Which to use
“mach” is a verb and “mau” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #687
- “mach” frequency rank
- #17,357
- “mau” frequency rank
- 18044
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mach | mau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ des Verbs machen | sich nicht ganz wohl fühlend |
Where the eye mixes mach and mau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mach is [max] while mau is [maʊ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18044, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mach is recorded at frequency rank #687, classified as averb, pronounced [max]. mau is at rank #17,357, tagged as anadj, pronounced [maʊ̯].
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 18044, this pair ranks #1,921,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mach vs mau
Shared letters: am. Private to "mach": ch. Private to "mau": u.
"mach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mau" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mach ← amch · macch · machh · mahc · mcah · mmach
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mach" and "mau" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mach" or "mau"?
What to do next
You've compared "mach" and "mau". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "mach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,921,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mach" and "mau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mals vs mau". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.