Which to use
“Motion” and “Motiven” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,366
- “Motion” frequency rank
- #9,420
- “Motiven” frequency rank
- 26786
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Motion | Motiven |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ableitung (Derivation) weiblicher Personen- oder Tierbezeichnungen aus den entsprechenden männlichen Wörtern, vereinzelt auch die Ableitung männlicher Bezeichnungen aus weiblichen. | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Motiv |
Where the eye mixes Motion and Motiven
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Motion runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against Motiven's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Motion vs Motiven
A purely visual mix-up. Motion ([moˈt͡si̯oːn]) and Motiven ([ˌmoˈtiːvn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Motion is recorded at frequency rank #17,366, classified as anoun, pronounced [moˈt͡si̯oːn]. Motiven is at rank #9,420, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˌmoˈtiːvn̩].
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 26786, this pair ranks #1,812,405 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Motion vs Motiven
Shared letters: imnot. Private to "Motion": -. Private to "Motiven": ev.
"Motion" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "Motiven" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Motion" for "Motiven" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Motion" or "Motiven" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Motion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Motiven" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,812,405 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Motion" and "Motiven" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Motion vs Motten". 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 #1,812,405 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.