Which to use
“Mädel” and “Maul” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,596
- “Mädel” frequency rank
- #4,537
- “Maul” frequency rank
- 14133
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Mädel | Maul |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mädchen | Körperöffnung bei Tieren, durch die Nahrung aufgenommen wird |
Where the eye mixes Mädel and Maul
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Mädel and Maul
A purely visual mix-up. Mädel ([ˈmɛːdl̩]) and Maul ([maʊ̯l]) 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 14133, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Mädel is recorded at frequency rank #9,596, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɛːdl̩]. Maul is at rank #4,537, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maʊ̯l].
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 14133, this pair ranks #1,953,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Mädel vs Maul
Shared letters: lm. Private to "Mädel": deä. Private to "Maul": au.
"Mädel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Maul" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Maul ← amul · maull · mmaul · mual
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Mädel" and "Maul" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Mädel" or "Maul" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Mädel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Maul" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,953,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Mädel" and "Maul" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mädel vs Memel". 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 #1,953,333 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.