mahlenvsMühleWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#37,068
“mahlen” frequency rank
#8,110
“Mühle” frequency rank
45178
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mahlen Mühle
Definition Material (mit einer Mühle) zerkleinern, indem es gerieben und gequetscht wird eine Anlage, Maschine zum Mahlen verschiedener natürlicher Güter (meist Samen, Körner)

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
mahlen
5 ch
Mühle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mahlen is [ˈmaːlən] while Mühle is [ˈmyːlə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45178, 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]. Mühle is at rank #8,110, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmyːlə].

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 45178, this pair ranks #1,361,861 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mahlen vs Mühle

Shared letters: ehlm. Private to "mahlen": an. Private to "Mühle": ü.

"mahlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Mühle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequency comparison

mahlen#37,068
Mühle#8,110

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mahlen" and "Mühle" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mahlen" is a verb and "Mühle" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mahlen" or "Mühle"?
"Mühle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,110 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 Mühle

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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