ModemvsMöwenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,677
“Modem” frequency rank
#35,345
“Möwen” frequency rank
61022
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Modem Möwen
Definition Apparat zum Übertragen (Senden und Empfangen) digitaler Daten durch analoge Signale (häufig über Telefonleitungen) Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Möwe

Where the eye mixes Modem and Möwen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Modem
5 ch
Möwen

Look-alike desk: Modem vs Möwen

A purely visual mix-up. Modem ([ˈmoːdɛm]) and Möwen ([ˈmøːvn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61022, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Modem is recorded at frequency rank #25,677, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmoːdɛm]. Möwen is at rank #35,345, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmøːvn̩].

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 61022, this pair ranks #765,190 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Modem vs Möwen

Shared letters: em. Private to "Modem": do. Private to "Möwen": nwö.

"Modem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Möwen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Modemmdoem · mmodem · moddem · modemm · modme · moedm · omdem

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Modem" for "Möwen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmoːdɛm] versus [ˈmøːvn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Modem" vs "Möwen" - which ranks higher?
"Modem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,677 in our German list, against #35,345 for "Möwen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Modem" and "Möwen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Modem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Möwen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #765,190 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Modem" and "Möwen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Moden vs Möwen". 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 #765,190 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