morivsmotWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mori is a verb, mot is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mori” is a verb and “mot” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,337
“mori” frequency rank
#42,693
“mot” frequency rank
78030
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mori mot
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs muri Wort

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mori and mot apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
mori
3 ch
mot

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mori is [morʲ] while mot is [mo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78030, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mori is recorded at frequency rank #35,337, classified as averb, pronounced [morʲ]. mot is at rank #42,693, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mo].

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 78030, this pair ranks #247,378 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mori vs mot

Shared letters: mo. Private to "mori": ir. Private to "mot": t.

"mori" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mot" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • morimmori · moir · morri · mroi · omri

Frequency comparison

mori#35,337
mot#42,693

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mori" and "mot" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mori" is a verb and "mot" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mori" or "mot"?
"mori" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,337 in our German list, against #42,693 for "mot". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mori vs mot

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “mori”; for a noun, it's “mot”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mori” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list