musternvsmysteryWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mustern is a verb, mystery is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mustern” is a verb and “mystery” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,676
“mustern” frequency rank
#17,368
“mystery” frequency rank
38044
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mustern mystery
Definition etwas prüfend anschauen Geheimnis, Mysterium

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mustern and mystery apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
mustern
7 ch
mystery

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mustern is averb and mysteryanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38044, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mustern is recorded at frequency rank #20,676, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmʊstɐn]. mystery is at rank #17,368, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 38044, this pair ranks #1,574,291 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mustern vs mystery

Shared letters: emrst. Private to "mustern": nu. Private to "mystery": y.

"mustern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "mystery" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • musternmmustern · msutern · musetrn · musstern · mustenr · musternn · musterrn · mustren
  • mysterymmystery · msytery · mysetry · mysstery · mysterry · mysteryy · mysteyr · mystrey

Frequency comparison

mustern#20,676
mystery#17,368

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mustern" and "mystery" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mustern" is a verb and "mystery" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mustern" or "mystery"?
"mystery" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,368 in our German list, against #20,676 for "mustern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mustern vs mystery

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “mustern”; for a noun, it's “mystery”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mustern” 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