Which to use
“mean” and “mer” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,306
- “mean” frequency rank
- #10,134
- “mer” frequency rank
- 29440
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mean | mer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das Ergebnis der Division einer Summe von Zahlen durch deren Anzahl | das Meer, die See |
Where the eye mixes mean and mer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mean with mer
A purely visual mix-up. mean ([mi(ː)n]) and mer ([mεːʀ]) 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 29440, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mean is recorded at frequency rank #19,306, classified as anoun, pronounced [mi(ː)n]. mer is at rank #10,134, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mεːʀ].
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 29440, this pair ranks #1,766,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mean vs mer
Shared letters: em. Private to "mean": an. Private to "mer": r.
"mean" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mer" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mean ← eman · meann · mena · mmean
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mean" and "mer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "mean" vs "mer" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mean" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,766,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mean" and "mer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mean vs miau". 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 #1,766,773 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.