Which to use
“mahnen” and “meinen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,659
- “mahnen” frequency rank
- #280
- “meinen” frequency rank
- 32939
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mahnen | meinen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eindringlich zu einem bestimmten, als erforderlich erachteten Handeln und Benehmen auffordern, drängen | einen bestimmten Standpunkt oder eine bestimmte Meinung vertreten |
Where the eye mixes mahnen and meinen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mahnen (CVCCVC) and meinen (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses mahnen with meinen
A purely visual mix-up. mahnen ([ˈmaːnən]) and meinen ([ˈmaɪ̯nən]) 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 32939, 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]. meinen is at rank #280, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmaɪ̯nən].
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 32939, this pair ranks #1,696,841 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mahnen vs meinen
Shared letters: emn. Private to "mahnen": ah. Private to "meinen": i.
"mahnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "meinen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mahnen" for "meinen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "mahnen" or "meinen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mahnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "meinen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,696,841 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mahnen" and "meinen" 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 #1,696,841 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.