MailsvsmileWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,633
“Mails” frequency rank
#42,680
“mile” frequency rank
47313
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Mails mile
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Mail Meile

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Mails and mile apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Mails
4 ch
mile

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Mails ([mɛɪ̯ls]) and mile ([maɪl]) 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 47313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Mails is recorded at frequency rank #4,633, classified as anoun, pronounced [mɛɪ̯ls]. mile is at rank #42,680, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maɪl].

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 47313, this pair ranks #1,288,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Mails vs mile

Shared letters: ilm. Private to "Mails": as. Private to "mile": e.

"Mails" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "mile" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mailsamils · maills · mailss · maisl · malis · mials · mmails
  • mileimle · miel · mlie · mmile

Frequency comparison

Mails#4,633
mile#42,680

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Mails" and "mile" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([mɛɪ̯ls] versus [maɪl]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Mails" or "mile"?
"Mails" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,633 in our German list, against #42,680 for "mile". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Mails vs mile

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 “Mails” 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