Which to use
“malen” and “melken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,735
- “malen” frequency rank
- #27,412
- “melken” frequency rank
- 33147
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | malen | melken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit Farbe bestreichen, anstreichen; mit Farbe bunt verzieren | Milch vom Milchvieh gewinnen |
Where the eye mixes malen and melken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between malen and melken
A purely visual mix-up. malen ([ˈmaːlən]) and melken ([ˈmɛlkn̩]) 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 33147, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
malen is recorded at frequency rank #5,735, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaːlən]. melken is at rank #27,412, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛlkn̩].
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 33147, this pair ranks #1,692,252 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of malen vs melken
Shared letters: elmn. Private to "malen": a. Private to "melken": k.
"malen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "melken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "malen" for "melken" ever safe?
Frequency check: "malen" vs "melken" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "malen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "melken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,692,252 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "malen" and "melken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "melken vs Milben". 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 #1,692,252 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.