mahlenvsMährenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mahlen is a verb, Mähren is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mahlen” is a verb and “Mähren” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,068
“mahlen” frequency rank
#21,705
“Mähren” frequency rank
58773
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mahlen Mähren
Definition Material (mit einer Mühle) zerkleinern, indem es gerieben und gequetscht wird eine Großregion in Tschechien mit der Hauptstadt Brünn

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mahlen and Mähren apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
mahlen
6 ch
Mähren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mahlen is [ˈmaːlən] while Mähren is [ˈmɛːʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58773, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mahlen is recorded at frequency rank #37,068, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaːlən]. Mähren is at rank #21,705, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈmɛːʁən].

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 58773, this pair ranks #849,904 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mahlen vs Mähren

Shared letters: ehmn. Private to "mahlen": al. Private to "Mähren": .

"mahlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Mähren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mahlenamhlen · maheln · mahhlen · mahlenn · mahllen · mahlne · malhen · mhalen

Frequency comparison

mahlen#37,068
Mähren#21,705

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mahlen" and "Mähren" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mahlen" is a verb and "Mähren" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mahlen" or "Mähren"?
"Mähren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,705 in our German list, against #37,068 for "mahlen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mahlen vs Mähren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “mahlen”; for a name, it's “Mähren”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mahlen” 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