Which to use
“Motel” and “Motto” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,211
- “Motel” frequency rank
- #2,984
- “Motto” frequency rank
- 33195
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Motel | Motto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Anlage mit mietbaren Appartements an Autobahnen | eine – oft schlagwortartige – programmatische Aussage, die eine Person, Institution oder Veranstaltung charakterisieren oder prägen soll |
Where the eye mixes Motel and Motto
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Motel vs Motto
A purely visual mix-up. Motel ([ˈmoːtl̩]) and Motto ([ˈmɔto]) 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 33195, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Motel is recorded at frequency rank #30,211, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmoːtl̩]. Motto is at rank #2,984, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɔto].
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 33195, this pair ranks #1,691,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Motel vs Motto
Shared letters: mot. Private to "Motel": el. Private to "Motto": -.
"Motel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Motto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Motel" for "Motto" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Motel" vs "Motto" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Motel" and "Motto" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Motel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Motto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,691,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Motel" and "Motto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Memel vs Motel". 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 #1,691,215 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.