ModusvsMordesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,451
“Modus” frequency rank
#10,140
“Mordes” frequency rank
14591
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Modus Mordes
Definition Art und Weise Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Mord

Where the eye mixes Modus and Mordes

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

5 ch
Modus
6 ch
Mordes

Why the eye confuses Modus with Mordes

A purely visual mix-up. Modus ([ˈmɔdʊs]) and Mordes ([ˈmɔʁdəs]) 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 14591, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Modus is recorded at frequency rank #4,451, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɔdʊs]. Mordes is at rank #10,140, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɔʁdəs].

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 14591, this pair ranks #1,950,126 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Modus vs Mordes

Shared letters: dmos. Private to "Modus": u. Private to "Mordes": er.

"Modus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Mordes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Modusmdous · mmodus · moddus · modsu · moduss · mouds · omdus
  • Mordesmmordes · modres · morddes · mordess · mordse · moreds · morrdes · mrodes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Modus" for "Mordes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɔdʊs] versus [ˈmɔʁdəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Modus" or "Mordes"?
"Modus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,451 in our German list, against #10,140 for "Mordes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Modus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Mordes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,950,126 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Modus" and "Mordes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Moden vs Mordes". 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 #1,950,126 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