MusevsMusterConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#19,315
“Muse” frequency rank
#4,061
“Muster” frequency rank
23376
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Muse Muster
Definition altgriechische Göttin der Künste und Wissenschaften gleichbleibende Struktur, die einer sich wiederholenden Sache zu Grunde liegt

Where the eye mixes Muse and Muster

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

4 ch
Muse
6 ch
Muster

Visual trap between Muse and Muster

A purely visual mix-up. Muse ([ˈmuːzə]) and Muster ([ˈmʊstɐ]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23376, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Muse is recorded at frequency rank #19,315, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmuːzə]. Muster is at rank #4,061, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmʊstɐ].

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 23376, this pair ranks #1,862,105 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Muse vs Muster

Shared letters: emsu. Private to "Muse": -. Private to "Muster": rt.

"Muse" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Muster" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Musemmuse · msue · mues · musse · umse
  • Mustermmuster · msuter · musetr · musster · musterr · mustre · mustter · mutser

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Muse" for "Muster" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmuːzə] versus [ˈmʊstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Muse" vs "Muster" - which ranks higher?
"Muster" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,061 in our German list, against #19,315 for "Muse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Muse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Muster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,862,105 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Muse" and "Muster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mauser vs Muse". 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 #1,862,105 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