mailenvsMeilenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mailen is a verb, Meilen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mailen” is a verb and “Meilen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,065
“mailen” frequency rank
#6,955
“Meilen” frequency rank
56020
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mailen Meilen
Definition eine E-Mail versenden, schicken Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Meile

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mailen and Meilen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
mailen
6 ch
Meilen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mailen is [ˈmɛɪ̯lən] while Meilen is [ˈmaɪ̯lən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “mailen” becomes e in “Meilen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56020, 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]. Meilen is at rank #6,955, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaɪ̯lən].

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 56020, this pair ranks #956,735 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mailen vs Meilen

Shared letters: eilmn. Private to "mailen": a. Private to "Meilen": -.

"mailen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Meilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mailenamilen · maieln · mailenn · maillen · mailne · malien · mialen · mmailen
  • Meilenemilen · meieln · meilenn · meillen · meilne · melien · mielen · mmeilen

Frequency comparison

mailen#49,065
Meilen#6,955

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mailen" and "Meilen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mailen" is a verb and "Meilen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mailen" or "Meilen"?
"Meilen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,955 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 Meilen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “mailen”; for a noun, it's “Meilen”.
  • 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