Which to use
“melken” and “messen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,412
- “melken” frequency rank
- #3,983
- “messen” frequency rank
- 31395
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | melken | messen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Milch vom Milchvieh gewinnen | eine Größe mit Hilfe eines Maßes bestimmen |
Where the eye mixes melken and messen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses melken with messen
A purely visual mix-up. melken ([ˈmɛlkn̩]) 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 31395, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
melken is recorded at frequency rank #27,412, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛlkn̩]. 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 31395, this pair ranks #1,728,979 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of melken vs messen
Shared letters: emn. Private to "melken": kl. Private to "messen": s.
"melken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "messen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "melken" and "messen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "melken" vs "messen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "melken" 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 #1,728,979 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "melken" and "messen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "melken vs Milben". 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 #1,728,979 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.