milevsMilzWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,680
“mile” frequency rank
#30,202
“Milz” frequency rank
72882
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mile Milz
Definition Meile Organ zur Produktion von Abwehrstoffen und weißen Blutkörperchen, sowie zum Abbau von roten Blutkörperchen

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
mile
4 ch
Milz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mile ([maɪl]) and Milz ([mɪlt͡s]) 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 a single letter - e in “mile” becomes z in “Milz”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mile is recorded at frequency rank #42,680, classified as anoun, pronounced [maɪl]. Milz is at rank #30,202, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mɪlt͡s].

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 72882, this pair ranks #375,888 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mile vs Milz

Shared letters: ilm. Private to "mile": e. Private to "Milz": z.

"mile" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Milz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mileimle · miel · mlie · mmile
  • Milzimlz · millz · milzz · mizl · mliz · mmilz

Frequency comparison

mile#42,680
Milz#30,202

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mile" and "Milz" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([maɪl] versus [mɪlt͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mile" or "Milz"?
"Milz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,202 in our German list, against #42,680 for "mile". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mile vs Milz

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 “mile” 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