Which to use
“mild” is an adjective and “milk” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,330
- “mild” frequency rank
- #34,262
- “milk” frequency rank
- 52592
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mild | milk |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht stark im Geschmack | 2. Person Singular Präsens Imperativ Aktiv des Verbs melken |
Where the eye mixes mild and milk
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mild with milk
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mild is [mɪlt] while milk is [mɪlk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “mild” becomes k in “milk”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52592, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mild is recorded at frequency rank #18,330, classified as anadj, pronounced [mɪlt]. milk is at rank #34,262, tagged as averb, pronounced [mɪlk].
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 52592, this pair ranks #1,090,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mild vs milk
Shared letters: ilm. Private to "mild": d. Private to "milk": k.
"mild" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "milk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mild" and "milk" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mild" vs "milk" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mild" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "milk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,090,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mild" and "milk" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Milfs vs milk". 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 #1,090,782 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.