# mala vs mel

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### mala
*noun · IPA /ˈmeɪ.lə/ · frequency rank #34,178*
A single lobe of an insect's maxilla.

### mel
*noun · IPA /mɛl/ · frequency rank #9,630*
A unit of pitch on a scale of pitches perceived by listeners to be equally spaced from one another.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mala-vs-mel