ModevsMondesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Mode” and “Mondes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,331
“Mode” frequency rank
#21,700
“Mondes” frequency rank
25031
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Mode Mondes
Definition Brauch, Gewohnheit, Sitte Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Mond

Where the eye mixes Mode and Mondes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Mode
6 ch
Mondes

Why the eye confuses Mode with Mondes

A purely visual mix-up. Mode ([ˈmoːdə]) and Mondes ([ˈmoːndəs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Mode is recorded at frequency rank #3,331, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmoːdə]. Mondes is at rank #21,700, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmoːndəs].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 25031, this pair ranks #1,839,134 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Mode vs Mondes

Shared letters: demo. Private to "Mode": -. Private to "Mondes": ns.

"Mode" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Mondes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Modemdoe · mmode · modde · moed · omde
  • Mondesmmondes · mnodes · modnes · monddes · mondess · mondse · moneds · monndes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Mode" and "Mondes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmoːdə] versus [ˈmoːndəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Mode" or "Mondes" show up more?
"Mode" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,331 in our German list, against #21,700 for "Mondes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Mode" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Mondes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,839,134 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Mode" and "Mondes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Moden vs Mondes". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,839,134 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list