Which to use
“Mute” and “Mutter” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,098
- “Mute” frequency rank
- #470
- “Mutter” frequency rank
- 40568
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Mute | Mutter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Mut | weiblicher Elternteil, der seine Kinder aufzieht und versorgt; Frau, welche ein oder mehrere Kinder geboren hat |
Where the eye mixes Mute and Mutter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Mute with Mutter
A purely visual mix-up. Mute ([ˈmuːtə]) and Mutter ([ˈmʊtɐ]) 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 40568, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Mute is recorded at frequency rank #40,098, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmuːtə]. Mutter is at rank #470, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmʊtɐ].
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 40568, this pair ranks #1,504,710 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Mute vs Mutter
Shared letters: emtu. Private to "Mute": -. Private to "Mutter": r.
"Mute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Mutter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Mute" for "Mutter" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Mute" vs "Mutter" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Mute" and "Mutter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Mute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Mutter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,504,710 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Mute" and "Mutter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Matze vs Mute". 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 #1,504,710 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.