motvsMotelWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,693
“mot” frequency rank
#30,211
“Motel” frequency rank
72904
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mot Motel
Definition Wort Anlage mit mietbaren Appartements an Autobahnen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mot and Motel apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
mot
5 ch
Motel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mot ([mo]) and Motel ([ˈmoːtl̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “mot” sits inside “Motel”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72904, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mot is recorded at frequency rank #42,693, classified as anoun, pronounced [mo]. Motel is at rank #30,211, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmoːtl̩].

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 72904, this pair ranks #375,245 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mot vs Motel

Shared letters: mot. Private to "mot": -. Private to "Motel": el.

"mot" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Motel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Motelmmotel · moetl · motell · motle · mottel · mtoel · omtel

Frequency comparison

mot#42,693
Motel#30,211

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mot" and "Motel" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([mo] versus [ˈmoːtl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mot" or "Motel"?
"Motel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,211 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 mot vs Motel

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mot” 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