ModemvsmüdenConfusable pair

Quick tell: Modem is a noun, müden is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Modem” is a noun and “müden” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,677
“Modem” frequency rank
#27,858
“müden” frequency rank
53535
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Modem müden
Definition Apparat zum Übertragen (Senden und Empfangen) digitaler Daten durch analoge Signale (häufig über Telefonleitungen) Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs müde

Where the eye mixes Modem and müden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Modem
5 ch
müden

Why the eye confuses Modem with müden

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Modem is [ˈmoːdɛm] while müden is [ˈmyːdn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53535, 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]. müden is at rank #27,858, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmyːdn̩].

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 53535, this pair ranks #1,054,146 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Modem vs müden

Shared letters: dem. Private to "Modem": o. Private to "müden": .

"Modem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "müden" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Modem" for "müden" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Modem" is a noun and "müden" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Modem" vs "müden" - which ranks higher?
"Modem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,677 in our German list, against #27,858 for "müden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Modem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "müden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,054,146 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Modem" and "müden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Madsen vs müden". 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 #1,054,146 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