Muss

[mʊs]

/[mʊs]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Muss” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #83) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#83
frequency rank, German
3,571
“M” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - etwas, das absolut notwendig ist

Corpus desk

Index DE-muss · Muss · German

Muss · rank #83 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #83
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,571
  • PHOTO-FINISH können

Nearest frequency peer: können (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “Muss”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “Muss” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

Muss vs Mut
50% similar
Muss vs must
50% similar
Muss vs Mute
50% similar

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

Key facts for Muss
PropertyValue
HeadwordMuss
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[mʊs]
Letters4
Frequency rank#83
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Muss” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Muss lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for Muss is neighbouring look-alikes ("Mut", "must", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [mʊs]. Frequency #83 among 3,571 “M” headwords. Gloss: "etwas, das absolut notwendig ist".

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for Muss, with forms such as "mmuss", "msus", and "muß". 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, "Mut", "must", "Mute", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Muss, spelled M-U-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    etwas, das absolut notwendig ist

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Gute Deutschkenntnisse sind ein Muss, um ein Literaturstudium anzufangen.
  2. „Große Fenster waren ein Muss.“

Synonyms

NotNotwendigkeitZwang

This word in other languages

must(English)must(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmuss
  • msus
  • muß
  • umss

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

mmuss1msus2muß2umss2
Edit distance from "Muss"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Muss"?
"Muss" is spelled M-U-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is [mʊs].
What does "Muss" mean?
As a noun, "Muss" means: etwas, das absolut notwendig ist
What words are commonly confused with "Muss"?
"Muss" is commonly confused with "Mut", "must", "Mute". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Muss"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Muss" is [mʊs]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Muss" come from?
"Muss" 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 "Muss", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

sehr#81alle#80gibt#90Ihre#92
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list