MellevsMuldeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Melle is a name, Mulde is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Melle” is a name and “Mulde” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,077
“Melle” frequency rank
#26,976
“Mulde” frequency rank
64053
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Melle Mulde
Definition eine Stadt in Niedersachsen, Deutschland längliches, abgerundetes Gefäß mit einer flachen Vertiefung, das sowohl aus einem Stück als auch aus einem Material gefertigt ist

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Melle and Mulde apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Melle
5 ch
Mulde

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Melle is [ˈmɛlə] while Mulde is [ˈmʊldə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64053, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Melle is recorded at frequency rank #37,077, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈmɛlə]. Mulde is at rank #26,976, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmʊldə].

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 64053, this pair ranks #655,025 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Melle vs Mulde

Shared letters: elm. Private to "Melle": -. Private to "Mulde": du.

"Melle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Mulde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Melleemlle · mele · melel · mlele · mmelle
  • Muldemlude · mmulde · mudle · muldde · muled · mullde · umlde

Frequency comparison

Melle#37,077
Mulde#26,976

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Melle" and "Mulde" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Melle" is a name and "Mulde" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Melle" or "Mulde"?
"Mulde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,976 in our German list, against #37,077 for "Melle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Melle vs Mulde

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Melle”; for a noun, it's “Mulde”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Melle” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list