Which to use
“mussten” is a verb and “Muster” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,138
- “mussten” frequency rank
- #4,061
- “Muster” frequency rank
- 5199
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mussten | Muster |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs müssen | gleichbleibende Struktur, die einer sich wiederholenden Sache zu Grunde liegt |
Where the eye mixes mussten and Muster
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. mussten runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against Muster's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: mussten vs Muster
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mussten is [ˈmʊstn̩] while Muster is [ˈmʊstɐ]. 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 5199, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mussten is recorded at frequency rank #1,138, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmʊstn̩]. 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 5199, this pair ranks #1,995,503 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mussten vs Muster
Shared letters: emstu. Private to "mussten": n. Private to "Muster": r.
"mussten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "Muster" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mussten" and "Muster" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mussten" vs "Muster" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mussten" 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 #1,995,503 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mussten" and "Muster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mauser vs Muster". 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 #1,995,503 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.