Which to use
“murmeln” and “murmelte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,511
- “murmeln” frequency rank
- #47,601
- “murmelte” frequency rank
- 84112
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | murmeln | murmelte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit gedämpfter, fast unverständlicher Stimme sprechen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs murmeln |
Where the eye mixes murmeln and murmelte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. murmeln runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against murmelte's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses murmeln with murmelte
A purely visual mix-up. murmeln ([ˈmʊʁml̩n]) and murmelte ([ˈmʊʁml̩tə]) 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 84112, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
murmeln is recorded at frequency rank #36,511, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmʊʁml̩n]. murmelte is at rank #47,601, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmʊʁml̩tə].
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 84112, this pair ranks #128,965 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of murmeln vs murmelte
Shared letters: elmru. Private to "murmeln": n. Private to "murmelte": t.
"murmeln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "murmelte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "murmeln" for "murmelte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "murmeln" vs "murmelte" - 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 "murmeln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "murmelte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #128,965 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "murmeln" and "murmelte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "murmelte vs Murmeltier". 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 #128,965 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.