MahlvsMautWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#24,039
“Mahl” frequency rank
#8,753
“Maut” frequency rank
32792
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Mahl Maut
Definition Vorgang, bei dem Essen zu sich genommen wird, gespeist wird Zoll

Where the eye mixes Mahl and Maut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Mahl (CVCC) and Maut (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Mahl
4 ch
Maut

Look-alike desk: Mahl vs Maut

A purely visual mix-up. Mahl ([maːl]) and Maut ([maʊ̯t]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32792, 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]. Maut is at rank #8,753, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maʊ̯t].

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 32792, this pair ranks #1,699,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Mahl vs Maut

Shared letters: am. Private to "Mahl": hl. Private to "Maut": tu.

"Mahl" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Maut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mahlamhl · mahhl · mahll · malh · mhal · mmahl
  • Mautamut · matu · mautt · mmaut · muat

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Mahl" and "Maut" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([maːl] versus [maʊ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Mahl" or "Maut"?
"Maut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,753 in our German list, against #24,039 for "Mahl". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Mahl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Maut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,699,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Mahl" and "Maut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mahl vs Mals". 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 #1,699,923 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list