moss

[…]

/[…]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“moss” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #23,244) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#23,244
frequency rank, German
3,571
“M” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - wurzellose Sporenpflanze mit Generationswechsel, die in ihrem Aufbau simpel und kaum gegliedert ist

Corpus desk

Index DE-moss · moss · German

moss · rank #23,244 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,244
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,571
  • PHOTO-FINISH Moped

Nearest frequency peer: Moped (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „moss“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „moss“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

moss vs MS
0% similar
moss vs MSc
0% similar
moss vs MSV
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for moss
PropertyValue
Headwordmoss
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[…]
Letters4
Frequency rank#23,244
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „moss“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).mossliegt auf dieser Marke:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Moped“ (#23,243), „mitmacht“ (#23,242), „Musicals“ (#23,246). Unter 3,571 „M“-Lemmata liegt „moss“ bei #23,244. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for moss is neighbouring look-alikes ("MS", "MSc", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced […]. Frequency #23,244 among 3,571 “M” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for moss, with forms such as "mmoss", "moß", and "msos". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "MS", "MSc", "MSV", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is moss, spelled M-O-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    wurzellose Sporenpflanze mit Generationswechsel, die in ihrem Aufbau simpel und kaum gegliedert ist
  2. 2
    immergrüne, polsterbildende Moospflanzen, die hauptsächlich an feuchten, schattigen Stellen den Boden, Baumstämme, Steine oder Ähnliches überziehen

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how moss appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. On the graveyard is many moss.

This word in other languages

mousse(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmoss
  • moß
  • msos
  • omss

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of moss - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

mmoss1moß2msos2omss2
Edit distance from "moss"

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

How do you spell "moss"?
"moss" is spelled M-O-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is […].
What does "moss" mean?
As a noun, "moss" means: wurzellose Sporenpflanze mit Generationswechsel, die in ihrem Aufbau simpel und kaum gegliedert ist
What words are commonly confused with "moss"?
"moss" is commonly confused with "MS", "MSc", "MSV". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "moss"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "moss" is […]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "moss" come from?
"moss" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "moss", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Mika#23,238NGOs#23,250noir#23,251Memo#23,234

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list