MotionvsMottenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#17,366
“Motion” frequency rank
#34,271
“Motten” frequency rank
51637
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Motion Motten
Definition Ableitung (Derivation) weiblicher Personen- oder Tierbezeichnungen aus den entsprechenden männlichen Wörtern, vereinzelt auch die Ableitung männlicher Bezeichnungen aus weiblichen. Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Motte

Where the eye mixes Motion and Motten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Motion
6 ch
Motten

Look-alike desk: Motion vs Motten

A purely visual mix-up. Motion ([moˈt͡si̯oːn]) and Motten ([ˈmɔtn̩]) 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 51637, 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]. Motten is at rank #34,271, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɔtn̩].

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 51637, this pair ranks #1,127,967 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Motion vs Motten

Shared letters: mnot. Private to "Motion": i. Private to "Motten": e.

"Motion" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "Motten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Motionmmotion · moiton · motino · motionn · motoin · mottion · mtoion · omtion
  • Mottenmmotten · moten · motetn · mottenn · mottne · mtoten · omtten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Motion" and "Motten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([moˈt͡si̯oːn] versus [ˈmɔtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Motion" vs "Motten" - which ranks higher?
"Motion" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,366 in our German list, against #34,271 for "Motten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Motion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Motten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,127,967 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Motion" and "Motten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Moden 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 #1,127,967 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