melvsMilzConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,943
“mel” frequency rank
#30,202
“Milz” frequency rank
46145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mel Milz
Definition der Honig Organ zur Produktion von Abwehrstoffen und weißen Blutkörperchen, sowie zum Abbau von roten Blutkörperchen

Where the eye mixes mel and Milz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
mel
4 ch
Milz

Why the eye confuses mel with Milz

A purely visual mix-up. mel ([mɛɫ]) and Milz ([mɪlt͡s]) 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 46145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mel is recorded at frequency rank #15,943, classified as anoun, pronounced [mɛɫ]. Milz is at rank #30,202, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mɪlt͡s].

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 46145, this pair ranks #1,329,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mel vs Milz

Shared letters: lm. Private to "mel": e. Private to "Milz": iz.

"mel" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Milz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Milzimlz · millz · milzz · mizl · mliz · mmilz

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "mel" and "Milz" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([mɛɫ] versus [mɪlt͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "mel" vs "Milz" - which ranks higher?
"mel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,943 in our German list, against #30,202 for "Milz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "mel" and "Milz" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Milz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,329,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mel" and "Milz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Milfs vs Milz". 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 #1,329,097 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