MilbenvsMildeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#47,590
“Milben” frequency rank
#9,775
“Milde” frequency rank
57365
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Milben Milde
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Milbe die Charaktereigenschaft der Sanftmut

Where the eye mixes Milben and Milde

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Milben
5 ch
Milde

Why the eye confuses Milben with Milde

A purely visual mix-up. Milben ([ˈmɪlbn̩]) and Milde ([ˈmɪldə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57365, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Milben is recorded at frequency rank #47,590, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɪlbn̩]. Milde is at rank #9,775, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɪldə].

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 57365, this pair ranks #904,163 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Milben vs Milde

Shared letters: eilm. Private to "Milben": bn. Private to "Milde": d.

"Milben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Milde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Milbenimlben · miblen · milbben · milbenn · milbne · milebn · millben · mliben
  • Mildeimlde · midle · mildde · miled · millde · mlide · mmilde

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Milben" and "Milde" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɪlbn̩] versus [ˈmɪldə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Milben" or "Milde"?
"Milde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,775 in our German list, against #47,590 for "Milben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Milben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Milde" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #904,163 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Milben" and "Milde" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mailen 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 #904,163 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list