MalzvsmileConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#28,306
“Malz” frequency rank
#42,680
“mile” frequency rank
70986
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Malz mile
Definition in Wasser gekeimtes und anschließend getrocknetes (gedarrtes) Getreide, meist Gerste; wird hauptsächlich zur Bierherstellung verwendet Meile

Where the eye mixes Malz and mile

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Malz (CVCC) and mile (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Malz
4 ch
mile

Why the eye confuses Malz with mile

A purely visual mix-up. Malz ([malt͡s]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70986, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Malz is recorded at frequency rank #28,306, classified as anoun, pronounced [malt͡s]. 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 70986, this pair ranks #429,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Malz vs mile

Shared letters: lm. Private to "Malz": az. Private to "mile": ei.

"Malz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "mile" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Malz ← amlz · mallz · malzz · mazl · mlaz · mmalz
  • mile ← imle · miel · mlie · mmile

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Malz" and "mile" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([malt͡s] versus [maɪl]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Malz" or "mile"?
"Malz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,306 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.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Malz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mile" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #429,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Malz" and "mile" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mile vs Milfs". 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 #429,981 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list