macvsmmeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#4,810
“mac” frequency rank
#46,851
“mme” frequency rank
51661
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mac mme
Definition weites Kleidungsstück mit Ärmeln, das mindestens bis zu den Knien reicht und wasserdicht ist Mutter

Where the eye mixes mac and mme

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
mac
3 ch
mme

Look-alike desk: mac vs mme

A purely visual mix-up. mac ([mæk]) and mme ([m̩mɛ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mac is recorded at frequency rank #4,810, classified as anoun, pronounced [mæk]. mme is at rank #46,851, tagged as anoun, pronounced [m̩mɛ].

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 51661, this pair ranks #1,126,997 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mac vs mme

Shared letters: m. Private to "mac": ac. Private to "mme": e.

"mac" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "mme" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mac" for "mme" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([mæk] versus [m̩mɛ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "mac" vs "mme" - which ranks higher?
"mac" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,810 in our German list, against #46,851 for "mme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "mac" and "mme" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,126,997 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mac" and "mme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Memel vs mme". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,126,997 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list