mildenvsmindernWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: milden is a adjective, mindern is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“milden” is an adjective and “mindern” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,988
“milden” frequency rank
#22,829
“mindern” frequency rank
40817
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature milden mindern
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs mild etwas kleiner, weniger machen; bewirken, dass etwas geringer wird

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set milden and mindern apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
milden
7 ch
mindern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: milden is [ˈmɪldn̩] while mindern is [ˈmɪndɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40817, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

milden is recorded at frequency rank #17,988, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmɪldn̩]. mindern is at rank #22,829, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɪndɐn].

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 40817, this pair ranks #1,497,421 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of milden vs mindern

Shared letters: deimn. Private to "milden": l. Private to "mindern": r.

"milden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "mindern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mildenimlden · midlen · mildden · mildenn · mildne · miledn · millden · mliden
  • mindernimndern · midnern · minddern · mindenr · mindernn · minderrn · mindren · minedrn

Frequency comparison

milden#17,988
mindern#22,829

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "milden" and "mindern" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "milden" is an adjective and "mindern" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "milden" or "mindern"?
"milden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,988 in our German list, against #22,829 for "mindern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering milden vs mindern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “milden”; for a verb, it's “mindern”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “milden” 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