mistervsmobsterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“mister” and “mobster” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,761
“mister” frequency rank
#35,834
“mobster” frequency rank
49595
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mister mobster
Definition Alternative spelling of Mister, especially when used as a form of address without a name. A member of a mob or Mafia.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mister and mobster apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
mister
7 ch
mobster

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mister (/ˈmɪstəɹ/) and mobster (/ˈmɒb.stə/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mister is recorded at frequency rank #13,761, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɪstəɹ/. mobster is at rank #35,834, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɒb.stə/.

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 49595, this pair ranks #182,109 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mister vs mobster

Shared letters: emrst. Private to "mister": i. Private to "mobster": bo.

"mister" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "mobster" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • misterimster · misetr · misster · misterr · mistre · mistter · mitser · mmister
  • mobstermboster · mmobster · mobbster · mobsetr · mobsster · mobsterr · mobstre · mobstter

Frequency comparison

mister#13,761
mobster#35,834

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mister" and "mobster" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈmɪstəɹ/ versus /ˈmɒb.stə/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mister" or "mobster"?
"mister" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,761 in our English list, against #35,834 for "mobster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mister vs mobster

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mister” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list