machvsmazeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mach is a verb, maze is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mach” is a verb and “maze” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#687
“mach” frequency rank
#44,065
“maze” frequency rank
44752
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mach maze
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ des Verbs machen Irrgarten oder ein Gewirr wie ein Irrgarten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mach and maze apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
mach
4 ch
maze

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mach is [max] while maze is [meɪz]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mach is recorded at frequency rank #687, classified as averb, pronounced [max]. maze is at rank #44,065, tagged as anoun, pronounced [meɪz].

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 44752, this pair ranks #1,375,925 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mach vs maze

Shared letters: am. Private to "mach": ch. Private to "maze": ez.

"mach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "maze" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machamch · macch · machh · mahc · mcah · mmach
  • mazeamze · maez · mazze · mmaze · mzae

Frequency comparison

mach#687
maze#44,065

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mach" and "maze" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mach" is a verb and "maze" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mach" or "maze"?
"mach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #687 in our German list, against #44,065 for "maze". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mach vs maze

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “mach”; for a noun, it's “maze”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mach” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list