malavsMalteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mala is a adjective, Malte is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mala” is an adjective and “Malte” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,440
“mala” frequency rank
#10,326
“Malte” frequency rank
55766
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mala Malte
Definition verkehrt, umgekehrt, gegenteilig, entgegengesetzt männlicher Vorname

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
mala
5 ch
Malte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mala is anadjective and Malteaname. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55766, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mala is recorded at frequency rank #45,440, classified as anadj. Malte is at rank #10,326, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈmaltə].

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 55766, this pair ranks #966,595 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mala vs Malte

Shared letters: alm. Private to "mala": -. Private to "Malte": et.

"mala" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Malte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • malamaal · malla · mlaa · mmala
  • Malteamlte · malet · mallte · maltte · matle · mlate · mmalte

Frequency comparison

mala#45,440
Malte#10,326

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mala" and "Malte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mala" is an adjective and "Malte" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mala" or "Malte"?
"Malte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,326 in our German list, against #45,440 for "mala". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mala vs Malte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “mala”; for a name, it's “Malte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mala” 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