Which to use
“master” and “muster” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,250
- “master” frequency rank
- #16,757
- “muster” frequency rank
- 18007
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | master | muster |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Someone who has control over something or someone. | A gathering. |
Where the eye mixes master and muster
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: master vs muster
A purely visual mix-up. master (/ˈmɑːs.tə/) and muster (/ˈmʌs.tə/) 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 a single letter - a in “master” becomes u in “muster”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18007, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
master is recorded at frequency rank #1,250, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɑːs.tə/. muster is at rank #16,757, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmʌs.tə/.
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 18007, this pair ranks #447,738 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of master vs muster
Shared letters: emrst. Private to "master": a. Private to "muster": u.
"master" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "muster" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "master" for "muster" ever safe?
Frequency check: "master" vs "muster" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "master" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "muster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #447,738 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "master" and "muster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "miser vs muster". 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 #447,738 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.