Which to use
“müssen” and “mustern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #154
- “müssen” frequency rank
- #20,676
- “mustern” frequency rank
- 20830
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | müssen | mustern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unausweichlich gezwungen sein, etwas zu tun oder zu erleiden | etwas prüfend anschauen |
Where the eye mixes müssen and mustern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. müssen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against mustern's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between müssen and mustern
A purely visual mix-up. müssen ([ˈmʏsn̩]) and mustern ([ˈmʊstɐn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
müssen is recorded at frequency rank #154, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmʏsn̩]. mustern is at rank #20,676, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmʊstɐn].
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 20830, this pair ranks #1,893,255 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of müssen vs mustern
Shared letters: emns. Private to "müssen": ü. Private to "mustern": rtu.
"müssen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mustern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mustern ← mmustern · msutern · musetrn · musstern · mustenr · musternn · musterrn · mustren
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "müssen" and "mustern" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "müssen" vs "mustern" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "müssen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mustern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,893,255 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "müssen" and "mustern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mustern vs Muttern". 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 #1,893,255 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.