MottevsmouthWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,677
“Motte” frequency rank
#40,096
“mouth” frequency rank
72773
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
Motte
5 ch
mouth

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Motte ([ˈmɔtə]) and mouth ([maʊθ]) 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 72773, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Motte is recorded at frequency rank #32,677, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɔtə]. mouth is at rank #40,096, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maʊθ].

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 72773, this pair ranks #378,916 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Motte vs mouth

Shared letters: mot. Private to "Motte": e. Private to "mouth": hu.

"Motte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mouth" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mottemmotte · mote · motet · mtote · omtte
  • mouthmmouth · motuh · mouht · mouthh · moutth · muoth · omuth

Frequency comparison

Motte#32,677
mouth#40,096

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Motte" and "mouth" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɔtə] versus [maʊθ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Motte" or "mouth"?
"Motte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,677 in our German list, against #40,096 for "mouth". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Motte vs mouth

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 “Motte” 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