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 eye mixes merle and meute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. merle (CVCCV) and meute (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between merle and meute
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "merle" and "meute" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "merle" or "meute"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "merle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "meute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #898,054 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "merle" and "meute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mette vs meute". 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 #898,054 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.