mailenvsmalleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“mailen” and “malle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,065
“mailen” frequency rank
#31,674
“malle” frequency rank
80739
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mailen malle
Definition eine E-Mail versenden, schicken 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs mallen

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
mailen
5 ch
malle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mailen ([ˈmɛɪ̯lən]) and malle ([ˈmalə]) 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 80739, 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]. malle is at rank #31,674, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmalə].

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 80739, this pair ranks #189,476 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mailen vs malle

Shared letters: aelm. Private to "mailen": in. Private to "malle": -.

"mailen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "malle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mailenamilen · maieln · mailenn · maillen · mailne · malien · mialen · mmailen
  • malleamlle · malel · mlale · mmalle

Frequency comparison

mailen#49,065
malle#31,674

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mailen" and "malle" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɛɪ̯lən] versus [ˈmalə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mailen" or "malle"?
"malle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,674 in our German list, against #49,065 for "mailen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mailen vs malle

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mailen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list