Which to use
“Mädchen” is a noun and “mähen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #534
- “Mädchen” frequency rank
- #27,426
- “mähen” frequency rank
- 27960
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Mädchen | mähen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | weibliches Kind | mit der Sense, Sichel, mit einer Mähmaschine Pflanzen bis zum Ansatz dicht über dem Erdboden wegschneiden |
Where the eye mixes Mädchen and mähen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Mädchen and mähen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Mädchen is [ˈmɛːtçən] while mähen is [ˈmɛːən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Mädchen is recorded at frequency rank #534, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɛːtçən]. mähen is at rank #27,426, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛːən].
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 27960, this pair ranks #1,792,944 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Mädchen vs mähen
Shared letters: ehmnä. Private to "Mädchen": cd. Private to "mähen": -.
"Mädchen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "mähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Mädchen" and "mähen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Mädchen" or "mähen" show up more?
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 "Mädchen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mähen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,792,944 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Mädchen" and "mähen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mähen vs mailen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,792,944 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.