Which to use
“Mutter” and “Muttern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #470
- “Mutter” frequency rank
- #42,014
- “Muttern” frequency rank
- 42484
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Mutter | Muttern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | weiblicher Elternteil, der seine Kinder aufzieht und versorgt; Frau, welche ein oder mehrere Kinder geboren hat | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Mutter |
Where the eye mixes Mutter and Muttern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Mutter with Muttern
A purely visual mix-up. Mutter ([ˈmʊtɐ]) and Muttern ([ˈmʊtɐn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Mutter” sits inside “Muttern”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42484, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Mutter is recorded at frequency rank #470, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmʊtɐ]. Muttern is at rank #42,014, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmʊtɐn].
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 42484, this pair ranks #1,447,880 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Mutter vs Muttern
Shared letters: emrtu. Private to "Mutter": -. Private to "Muttern": n.
"Mutter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Muttern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Mutter" for "Muttern" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Mutter" or "Muttern"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Mutter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Muttern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,447,880 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Mutter" and "Muttern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Motten 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 #1,447,880 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.