Which to use
“mahlen” and “mailen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,068
- “mahlen” frequency rank
- #49,065
- “mailen” frequency rank
- 86133
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mahlen | mailen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Material (mit einer Mühle) zerkleinern, indem es gerieben und gequetscht wird | eine E-Mail versenden, schicken |
Where the eye mixes mahlen and mailen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. mahlen (CVCCVC) and mailen (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: mahlen vs mailen
A purely visual mix-up. mahlen ([ˈmaːlən]) and mailen ([ˈmɛɪ̯lən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - h in “mahlen” becomes i in “mailen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86133, 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]. mailen is at rank #49,065, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛɪ̯lən].
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 86133, this pair ranks #98,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mahlen vs mailen
Shared letters: aelmn. Private to "mahlen": h. Private to "mailen": i.
"mahlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mailen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mahlen" and "mailen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "mahlen" or "mailen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "mahlen" and "mailen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mahlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mailen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mahlen" and "mailen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Madsen 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 #98,158 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.