ModenvsMöweWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#47,597
“Moden” frequency rank
#37,099
“Möwe” frequency rank
84696
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Moden Möwe
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Mode (am Meer und an Binnengewässern gesellig lebender) mittelgroßer bis großer schwimmfähiger, vorwiegend leuchtend weiß oder silbergrau gefiederter Seevogel (Larinae) mit relativ langen, schmalen und spitzen Flügeln, die ihm ein ausgezeichnetes Flugvermögen verleihen, mit einem kräftigen, schlanken, scharfen Schnabel und mit Schwimmhäuten an den Füßen

Where the eye mixes Moden and Möwe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Moden runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Möwe's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Moden
4 ch
Möwe

Look-alike desk: Moden vs Möwe

A purely visual mix-up. Moden ([ˈmoːdn̩]) and Möwe ([ˈmøːvə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84696, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Moden is recorded at frequency rank #47,597, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmoːdn̩]. Möwe is at rank #37,099, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmøːvə].

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 84696, this pair ranks #119,696 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Moden vs Möwe

Shared letters: em. Private to "Moden": dno. Private to "Möwe": wö.

"Moden" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Möwe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Moden ← mdoen · mmoden · modden · modenn · moedn · omden

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Moden" and "Möwe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmoːdn̩] versus [ˈmøːvə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Moden" or "Möwe"?
"Möwe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,099 in our German list, against #47,597 for "Moden". 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 "Moden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Möwe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #119,696 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Moden" and "Möwe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maroden vs Moden". 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 #119,696 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