Which to use
“mailen” and “malen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,065
- “mailen” frequency rank
- #5,735
- “malen” frequency rank
- 54800
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mailen | malen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine E-Mail versenden, schicken | mit Farbe bestreichen, anstreichen; mit Farbe bunt verzieren |
Where the eye mixes mailen and malen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mailen and malen
A purely visual mix-up. mailen ([ˈmɛɪ̯lən]) 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 54800, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mailen is recorded at frequency rank #49,065, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛɪ̯lən]. 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 54800, this pair ranks #1,004,531 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mailen vs malen
Shared letters: aelmn. Private to "mailen": i. Private to "malen": -.
"mailen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "malen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mailen" and "malen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mailen" vs "malen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mailen" 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 #1,004,531 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mailen" and "malen" 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 #1,004,531 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.