Which to use
“mahnen” and “malen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,659
- “mahnen” frequency rank
- #5,735
- “malen” frequency rank
- 38394
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mahnen | malen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eindringlich zu einem bestimmten, als erforderlich erachteten Handeln und Benehmen auffordern, drängen | mit Farbe bestreichen, anstreichen; mit Farbe bunt verzieren |
Where the eye mixes mahnen and malen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mahnen with malen
A purely visual mix-up. mahnen ([ˈmaːnən]) and malen ([ˈmaːlən]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38394, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mahnen is recorded at frequency rank #32,659, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaːnən]. malen is at rank #5,735, 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 38394, this pair ranks #1,565,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mahnen vs malen
Shared letters: aemn. Private to "mahnen": h. Private to "malen": l.
"mahnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "malen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mahnen" for "malen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mahnen" vs "malen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mahnen" and "malen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mahnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "malen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,565,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mahnen" and "malen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mahnen 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 #1,565,139 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.