motvsMotteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,693
“mot” frequency rank
#32,677
“Motte” frequency rank
75370
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mot Motte
Definition Wort Kleinschmetterling mit etwa 1 cm spannenden schmalen Flügeln, dessen Raupe unter anderem Wolle, Seide, Pelzwerk und Tapeten befällt

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
mot
5 ch
Motte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mot ([mo]) and Motte ([ˈmɔtə]) 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 “Motte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75370, 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]. Motte is at rank #32,677, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɔtə].

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 75370, this pair ranks #309,638 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mot vs Motte

Shared letters: mot. Private to "mot": -. Private to "Motte": e.

"mot" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Motte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mottemmotte · mote · motet · mtote · omtte

Frequency comparison

mot#42,693
Motte#32,677

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mot" and "Motte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([mo] versus [ˈmɔtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mot" or "Motte"?
"Motte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,677 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 Motte

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