MoslemvsMuslimWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,991
“Moslem” frequency rank
#12,974
“Muslim” frequency rank
31965
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Moslem Muslim
Definition Anhänger des islamischen Glaubens Anhänger der islamischen Religion

Where the eye mixes Moslem and Muslim

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Moslem and Muslim follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
Moslem
6 ch
Muslim

Look-alike desk: Moslem vs Muslim

A purely visual mix-up. Moslem ([ˈmɔslɛm]) and Muslim ([ˈmʊslɪm]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31965, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Moslem is recorded at frequency rank #18,991, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɔslɛm]. Muslim is at rank #12,974, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmʊslɪm].

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 31965, this pair ranks #1,717,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Moslem vs Muslim

Shared letters: lms. Private to "Moslem": eo. Private to "Muslim": iu.

"Moslem" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Muslim" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Moslem ← mmoslem · molsem · moselm · moslemm · mosllem · moslme · mosslem · msolem
  • Muslim ← mmuslim · msulim · mulsim · musilm · muslimm · musllim · muslmi · musslim

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Moslem" for "Muslim" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɔslɛm] versus [ˈmʊslɪm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Moslem" or "Muslim"?
"Muslim" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,974 in our German list, against #18,991 for "Moslem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Moslem" and "Muslim" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Moslem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Muslim" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,717,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Moslem" and "Muslim" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Muslim vs Muslima". 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 #1,717,527 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