Which to use
“mehren” and “messen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,233
- “mehren” frequency rank
- #3,983
- “messen” frequency rank
- 27216
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mehren | messen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Zunahme erwirken, vergrößern | eine Größe mit Hilfe eines Maßes bestimmen |
Where the eye mixes mehren and messen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mehren and messen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: mehren vs messen
A purely visual mix-up. mehren ([ˈmeːʁən]) and messen ([ˈmɛsn̩]) 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 27216, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mehren is recorded at frequency rank #23,233, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmeːʁən]. messen is at rank #3,983, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛsn̩].
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 27216, this pair ranks #1,805,383 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mehren vs messen
Shared letters: emn. Private to "mehren": hr. Private to "messen": s.
"mehren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "messen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mehren" and "messen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mehren" or "messen"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "messen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,805,383 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mehren" and "messen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mehren vs Möhre". 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 #1,805,383 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.