matter
[ˈmatɐ]
The verdict
“matter” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #18,623 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #18,623
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs matt
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | matter |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [ˈmatɐ] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #18,623 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “matter” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for matter is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈmatɐ]. Corpus data places it at rank #18,623 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for matter, with forms such as "amtter", "matetr", and "matterr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Mitte", "Meter", "Mauer", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is matter, spelled M-A-T-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs matt
- 2Genitiv Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs matt
- 3Dativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs matt
- 4Genitiv Plural Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs matt
- 5Nominativ Singular Positiv Maskulinum der gemischten Flexion des Adjektivs matt
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amtter,matetr,matterr,mattre,mmatter,mtater
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of matter - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “matter”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is M-A-T-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈmatɐ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Mitte” - see the side-by-side comparison. matter vs Mitte
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.