Which to use
“Motive” and “Motiven” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,398
- “Motive” frequency rank
- #9,420
- “Motiven” frequency rank
- 14818
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Motive | Motiven |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Motiv | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Motiv |
Where the eye mixes Motive and Motiven
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Motive runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against Motiven's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Motive with Motiven
A purely visual mix-up. Motive ([moˈtiːvə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Motive” sits inside “Motiven”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14818, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Motive is recorded at frequency rank #5,398, classified as anoun, pronounced [moˈtiːvə]. 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 14818, this pair ranks #1,948,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Motive vs Motiven
Shared letters: eimotv. Private to "Motive": -. Private to "Motiven": n.
"Motive" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "Motiven" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Motive" and "Motiven" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Motive" vs "Motiven" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Motive" and "Motiven" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Motive" 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 #1,948,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Motive" and "Motiven" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Motiven 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 #1,948,493 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.