Which to use
“mall” and “mar” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,303
- “mall” frequency rank
- #10,521
- “mar” frequency rank
- 29824
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mall | mar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs mallen | etwas stören, beeinträchtigen, beschädigen, verderben, verunstalten |
Where the eye mixes mall and mar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mall with mar
A purely visual mix-up. mall ([mal]) and mar ([mɑːʳ]) 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 29824, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mall is recorded at frequency rank #19,303, classified as averb, pronounced [mal]. mar is at rank #10,521, tagged as averb, pronounced [mɑːʳ].
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 29824, this pair ranks #1,759,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mall vs mar
Shared letters: am. Private to "mall": l. Private to "mar": r.
"mall" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mar" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mall ← amll · mlal · mmall
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mall" for "mar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mall" vs "mar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mall" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,759,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mall" and "mar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mall vs Mals". 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 #1,759,570 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.