mähenvsmailenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“mähen” and “mailen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,426
“mähen” frequency rank
#49,065
“mailen” frequency rank
76491
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mähen mailen
Definition mit der Sense, Sichel, mit einer Mähmaschine Pflanzen bis zum Ansatz dicht über dem Erdboden wegschneiden eine E-Mail versenden, schicken

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mähen and mailen apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
mähen
6 ch
mailen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mähen ([ˈmɛːən]) and mailen ([ˈmɛɪ̯lən]) 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 76491, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mähen is recorded at frequency rank #27,426, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛːən]. mailen is at rank #49,065, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛɪ̯lən].

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 76491, this pair ranks #282,668 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mähen vs mailen

Shared letters: emn. Private to "mähen": . Private to "mailen": ail.

"mähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "mailen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mailenamilen · maieln · mailenn · maillen · mailne · malien · mialen · mmailen

Frequency comparison

mähen#27,426
mailen#49,065

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mähen" and "mailen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɛːən] versus [ˈmɛɪ̯lən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mähen" or "mailen"?
"mähen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,426 in our German list, against #49,065 for "mailen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mähen vs mailen

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 “mähen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list