Which to use
“mahnte” and “meinte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,177
- “mahnte” frequency rank
- #1,165
- “meinte” frequency rank
- 34342
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mahnte | meinte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs mahnen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs meinen |
Where the eye mixes mahnte and meinte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mahnte (CVCCCV) and meinte (CVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between mahnte and meinte
A purely visual mix-up. mahnte ([ˈmaːntə]) and meinte ([ˈmaɪ̯ntə]) 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 34342, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mahnte is recorded at frequency rank #33,177, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaːntə]. meinte is at rank #1,165, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmaɪ̯ntə].
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 34342, this pair ranks #1,665,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mahnte vs meinte
Shared letters: emnt. Private to "mahnte": ah. Private to "meinte": i.
"mahnte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "meinte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mahnte" and "meinte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mahnte" or "meinte"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mahnte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "meinte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,665,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mahnte" and "meinte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "magnete vs mahnte". 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 #1,665,507 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.