problem using user accounts

[Jens]

hi,

i have a weird problem with the user account management. I've created a database and (with the grant command to allow access to the database) a user with a password. running:

mysql --user=the_user_name --password=the_correct_password

gives "access denied". running:

mysql --user=the_user_name

works. but i need the first command to work. did i forget something? i'm using mysql v3.28.53.

thanks for any help,
jens