mähenvsmartenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mähen is a verb, marten is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mähen” is a verb and “marten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,426
“mähen” frequency rank
#43,341
“marten” frequency rank
70767
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mähen marten
Definition mit der Sense, Sichel, mit einer Mähmaschine Pflanzen bis zum Ansatz dicht über dem Erdboden wegschneiden der Marder

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
mähen
6 ch
marten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mähen is averb and martenanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70767, 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]. marten is at rank #43,341, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 70767, this pair ranks #436,388 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mähen vs marten

Shared letters: emn. Private to "mähen": . Private to "marten": art.

"mähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "marten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • martenamrten · maretn · marrten · martenn · martne · martten · matren · mmarten

Frequency comparison

mähen#27,426
marten#43,341

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mähen" and "marten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mähen" is a verb and "marten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mähen" or "marten"?
"mähen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,426 in our German list, against #43,341 for "marten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mähen vs marten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “mähen”; for a noun, it's “marten”.
  • 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