mosvsmotWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#39,532
“mos” frequency rank
#42,693
“mot” frequency rank
82225
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mos mot
Definition verleiht einer Aufforderung, Aussage, Frage oder einem Wunsch eine gewisse Nachdrücklichkeit Wort

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
mos
3 ch
mot

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mos is [mos] while mot is [mo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - s in “mos” becomes t in “mot”, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mos is recorded at frequency rank #39,532, classified as aparticle, pronounced [mos]. 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 82225, this pair ranks #161,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mos vs mot

Shared letters: mo. Private to "mos": s. Private to "mot": t.

"mos" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "mot" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

mos#39,532
mot#42,693

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mos" and "mot" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mos" is a particle and "mot" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mos" or "mot"?
"mos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,532 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 mos vs mot

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a particle, it's “mos”; for a noun, it's “mot”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mos” 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