melvsmmeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,943
“mel” frequency rank
#46,851
“mme” frequency rank
62794
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mel mme
Definition der Honig Mutter

Where the eye mixes mel and mme

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

3 ch
mel
3 ch
mme

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mel ([mɛɫ]) and mme ([m̩mɛ]) 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 62794, 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]. mme is at rank #46,851, tagged as anoun, pronounced [m̩mɛ].

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 62794, this pair ranks #699,988 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mel vs mme

Shared letters: em. Private to "mel": l. Private to "mme": -.

"mel" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "mme" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mel" and "mme" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([mɛɫ] versus [m̩mɛ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mel" or "mme"?
"mel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,943 in our German list, against #46,851 for "mme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list