diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
     writercollection.cpp
     externalwriter.cpp
     formatstrings.cpp
+    mimeutils.cpp
     )
 ecm_qt_declare_logging_category(KF5FileMetaData_SRCS HEADER kfilemetadata_debug.h IDENTIFIER KFILEMETADATA_LOG CATEGORY_NAME kf5.kfilemetadata)
 
diff --git a/src/mimeutils.h b/src/mimeutils.h
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mimeutils.h
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+/*
+ * This file is part of KFileMetaData
+ * Copyright (C) 2019 Stefan Brüns <stefan.bruens@rwth-aachen.de>
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
+ *
+ */
+
+#ifndef KFILEMETADATA_MIMEUTILS
+#define KFILEMETADATA_MIMEUTILS
+
+#include <QMimeDatabase>
+#include "kfilemetadata_export.h"
+
+namespace KFileMetaData
+{
+namespace MimeUtils
+{
+
+/**
+ * Returns the mimetype for a file
+ *
+ * The function uses both content and filename to determine the
+ * \c QMimeType. In case the extension mimetype is more specific
+ * than the content mimetype, and the first inherits the latter,
+ * the extension mimetype is preferred.
+ * If the extension does not match the content, the content has
+ * higher priority.
+ * The file must exist and be readable.
+ *
+ * @since 5.57
+ *
+ * \sa QMimeDatabase::mimeTypesForFileName
+ * \sa QMimeType::inherits
+ */
+KFILEMETADATA_EXPORT
+QMimeType strictMimeType(const QString& filePath, const QMimeDatabase& db);
+
+
+} // namespace MimeUtils
+} // namespace KFileMetaData
+
+#endif // KFILEMETADATA_MIMEUTILS
diff --git a/src/mimeutils.cpp b/src/mimeutils.cpp
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mimeutils.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/*
+ * This file is part of KFileMetaData
+ * Copyright (C) 2019 Stefan Brüns <stefan.bruens@rwth-aachen.de>
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
+ *
+ */
+
+#include "mimeutils.h"
+
+namespace KFileMetaData {
+namespace MimeUtils {
+
+QMimeType strictMimeType(const QString& filePath, const QMimeDatabase& db)
+{
+    auto extensionMimes = db.mimeTypesForFileName(filePath);
+    auto contentMime    = db.mimeTypeForFile(filePath, QMimeDatabase::MatchContent);
+
+    if (extensionMimes.contains(contentMime)) {
+        // content based mime type is one of the types for the file extension, e.g.:
+        // *.ogg -> [ audio/ogg, audio/x-vorbis+ogg, ...]
+        // content -> audio/x-vorbis+ogg
+        return contentMime;
+    }
+
+    for (auto mime : extensionMimes) {
+        // check if the content is generic and the extension is more specific, e.g.:
+        // *.mkv -> [ video/matroska ]
+        // content -> application/matroska
+        if (mime.inherits(contentMime.name())) {
+            return mime;
+        }
+    }
+    // content mime type does not match the extension, trust the content
+    return contentMime;
+}
+
+}} // namespace KFileMetaData::MimeUtils