mullenvsmullerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“mullen” and “muller” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#26,177
“mullen” frequency rank
#19,911
“muller” frequency rank
46088
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mullen muller
Definition Alternative form of mullein. One who, or that which, mulls.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
mullen
6 ch
muller

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

mullen and muller are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - n in “mullen” becomes r in “muller”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mullen is recorded at frequency rank #26,177, classified as anoun. muller is at rank #19,911, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmʌlə/.

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 46088, this pair ranks #215,094 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mullen vs muller

Shared letters: elmu. Private to "mullen": n. Private to "muller": r.

"mullen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "muller" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mullenmlulen · mmullen · muleln · mulen · mullenn · mullne · umllen
  • mullermluler · mmuller · mulelr · muler · mullerr · mullre · umller

Frequency comparison

mullen#26,177
muller#19,911

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mullen" and "muller" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by a single letter - n in “mullen” becomes r in “muller”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "mullen" or "muller"?
"muller" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,911 in our English list, against #26,177 for "mullen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mullen vs muller

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 “mullen” 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