Which to use
“mähen” is a verb and “Märchen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,426
- “mähen” frequency rank
- #4,453
- “Märchen” frequency rank
- 31879
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mähen | Märchen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit der Sense, Sichel, mit einer Mähmaschine Pflanzen bis zum Ansatz dicht über dem Erdboden wegschneiden | auf mündlicher Überlieferung beruhende, kurze Erzählung, oft mit fantastischen und wunderbaren Begebenheiten |
Where the eye mixes mähen and Märchen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. mähen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Märchen's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between mähen and Märchen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mähen is [ˈmɛːən] while Märchen is [ˈmɛːɐ̯çən]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31879, 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]. Märchen is at rank #4,453, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɛːɐ̯çən].
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 31879, this pair ranks #1,719,184 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mähen vs Märchen
Shared letters: ehmnä. Private to "mähen": -. Private to "Märchen": cr.
"mähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Märchen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mähen" and "Märchen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "mähen" or "Märchen" 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 "mähen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Märchen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,719,184 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mähen" and "Märchen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mähen vs mailen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,719,184 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.