Which to use
“Mauer” and “maze” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,057
- “Mauer” frequency rank
- #44,065
- “maze” frequency rank
- 47122
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Mauer | maze |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Wand eines Gebäudes aus Stein, Beton oder auch Lehm | Irrgarten oder ein Gewirr wie ein Irrgarten |
Where the eye mixes Mauer and maze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Mauer with maze
A purely visual mix-up. Mauer ([ˈmaʊ̯ɐ]) and maze ([meɪz]) 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 47122, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Mauer is recorded at frequency rank #3,057, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaʊ̯ɐ]. maze is at rank #44,065, tagged as anoun, pronounced [meɪz].
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 47122, this pair ranks #1,295,419 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Mauer vs maze
Shared letters: aem. Private to "Mauer": ru. Private to "maze": z.
"Mauer" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "maze" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Mauer" for "maze" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Mauer" or "maze"?
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 "Mauer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,295,419 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Mauer" and "maze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Matze vs maze". 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 #1,295,419 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.