Which to use
“Maul” and “Maus” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,537
- “Maul” frequency rank
- #4,634
- “Maus” frequency rank
- 9171
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Maul | Maus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Körperöffnung bei Tieren, durch die Nahrung aufgenommen wird | kleines graues oder braunes Säugetier mit überwiegend langem Schwanz, rattenähnlich, in der Zuchtform auch weiß oder schwarz |
Where the eye mixes Maul and Maus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Maul and Maus
A purely visual mix-up. Maul ([maʊ̯l]) and Maus ([maʊ̯s]) 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 a single letter - l in “Maul” becomes s in “Maus”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Maul is recorded at frequency rank #4,537, classified as anoun, pronounced [maʊ̯l]. Maus is at rank #4,634, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maʊ̯s].
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 9171, this pair ranks #1,981,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Maul vs Maus
Shared letters: amu. Private to "Maul": l. Private to "Maus": s.
"Maul" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Maus" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Maul" and "Maus" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Maul" or "Maus"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Maul" and "Maus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Maul" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Maus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,981,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Maul" and "Maus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Maus vs Mauser". 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 #1,981,167 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.