Which to use
“Mahl” is a noun and “mahlen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,039
- “Mahl” frequency rank
- #37,068
- “mahlen” frequency rank
- 61107
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Mahl | mahlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vorgang, bei dem Essen zu sich genommen wird, gespeist wird | Material (mit einer Mühle) zerkleinern, indem es gerieben und gequetscht wird |
Where the eye mixes Mahl and mahlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Mahl runs 4 letters (CVCC) against mahlen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Mahl vs mahlen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Mahl is [maːl] while mahlen is [ˈmaːlən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Mahl” sits inside “mahlen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61107, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Mahl is recorded at frequency rank #24,039, classified as anoun, pronounced [maːl]. mahlen is at rank #37,068, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmaːlən].
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 61107, this pair ranks #762,049 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Mahl vs mahlen
Shared letters: ahlm. Private to "Mahl": -. Private to "mahlen": en.
"Mahl" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mahlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Mahl" and "mahlen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Mahl" or "mahlen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Mahl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mahlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #762,049 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Mahl" and "mahlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mahlen vs mailen". 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 #762,049 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.