Which to use
“mur” is a verb and “Muss” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,534
- “mur” frequency rank
- #83
- “Muss” frequency rank
- 26617
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mur | Muss |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs muren | etwas, das absolut notwendig ist |
Where the eye mixes mur and Muss
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mur and Muss
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mur is [muːɐ̯] while Muss is [mʊs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mur is recorded at frequency rank #26,534, classified as averb, pronounced [muːɐ̯]. Muss is at rank #83, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mʊs].
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 26617, this pair ranks #1,815,250 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mur vs Muss
Shared letters: mu. Private to "mur": r. Private to "Muss": s.
"mur" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "Muss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Muss ← mmuss · msus · muß · umss
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mur" for "Muss" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mur" or "Muss"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Muss" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,815,250 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mur" and "Muss" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mora vs mur". 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 #1,815,250 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.