Which to use
“Merkmal” and “Merkmalen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,950
- “Merkmal” frequency rank
- #18,628
- “Merkmalen” frequency rank
- 28578
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Merkmal | Merkmalen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | typische Eigenschaft, an der man erkennt, wodurch sich etwas von Ähnlichem unterscheidet | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Merkmal |
Where the eye mixes Merkmal and Merkmalen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. Merkmal ([ˈmɛʁkmaːl]) and Merkmalen ([ˈmɛʁkˌmaːlən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Merkmal” sits inside “Merkmalen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28578, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Merkmal is recorded at frequency rank #9,950, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɛʁkmaːl]. Merkmalen is at rank #18,628, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɛʁkˌmaːlən].
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 28578, this pair ranks #1,782,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Merkmal vs Merkmalen
Shared letters: aeklmr. Private to "Merkmal": -. Private to "Merkmalen": n.
"Merkmal" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "Merkmalen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Merkmal" and "Merkmalen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Merkmal" or "Merkmalen"?
What to do next
You've compared "Merkmal" and "Merkmalen". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "Merkmal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Merkmalen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,782,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Merkmal" and "Merkmalen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Merkmale vs Merkmalen". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.