Which to use
“mager” is an adjective and “maze” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,349
- “mager” frequency rank
- #44,065
- “maze” frequency rank
- 65414
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mager | maze |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dünn, dürr | Irrgarten oder ein Gewirr wie ein Irrgarten |
Where the eye mixes mager and maze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mager and maze
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mager is [ˈmaːɡɐ] while maze is [meɪz]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65414, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mager is recorded at frequency rank #21,349, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmaːɡɐ]. maze is at rank #44,065, tagged as anoun, pronounced [meɪz].
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 65414, this pair ranks #607,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mager vs maze
Shared letters: aem. Private to "mager": gr. Private to "maze": z.
"mager" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "maze" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mager" and "maze" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "mager" or "maze" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mager" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #607,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mager" and "maze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Matze vs maze". 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 #607,736 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.