merlevsmeuteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,761
“merle” frequency rank
#28,764
“meute” frequency rank
57525
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature merle meute
Definition Amsel Gruppe zum gemeinsamen Jagen abgerichteter Hunde

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
merle
5 ch
meute

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. merle ([mɛʁl]) and meute ([møːt]) 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 57525, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

merle is recorded at frequency rank #28,761, classified as anoun, pronounced [mɛʁl]. meute is at rank #28,764, tagged as anoun, pronounced [møːt].

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 57525, this pair ranks #898,054 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of merle vs meute

Shared letters: em. Private to "merle": lr. Private to "meute": tu.

"merle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "meute" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • merleemrle · melre · merel · merlle · merrle · mmerle · mrele
  • meuteemute · metue · meuet · meutte · mmeute · muete

Frequency comparison

merle#28,761
meute#28,764

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "merle" and "meute" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([mɛʁl] versus [møːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "merle" or "meute"?
"merle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,761 in our German list, against #28,764 for "meute". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering merle vs meute

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “merle” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list