Which to use
“mach” and “machte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #687
- “mach” frequency rank
- #780
- “machte” frequency rank
- 1467
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mach | machte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ des Verbs machen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs machen |
Where the eye mixes mach and machte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mach runs 4 letters (CVCC) against machte's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between mach and machte
A purely visual mix-up. mach ([max]) and machte ([ˈmaxtə]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “mach” sits inside “machte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mach is recorded at frequency rank #687, classified as averb, pronounced [max]. machte is at rank #780, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxtə].
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 1467, this pair ranks #2,004,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mach vs machte
Shared letters: achm. Private to "mach": -. Private to "machte": et.
"mach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "machte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mach" and "machte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "mach" vs "machte" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "mach" and "machte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "machte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,004,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mach" and "machte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mach vs Mals". 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 #2,004,287 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.