machvsMichiWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#687
“mach” frequency rank
#33,186
“Michi” frequency rank
33873
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mach Michi
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ des Verbs machen männlicher Vorname

Where the eye mixes mach and Michi

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
mach
5 ch
Michi

Why the eye confuses mach with Michi

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mach is [max] while Michi is [ˈmɪçiː]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33873, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mach is recorded at frequency rank #687, classified as averb, pronounced [max]. Michi is at rank #33,186, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈmɪçiː].

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 33873, this pair ranks #1,676,138 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mach vs Michi

Shared letters: chm. Private to "mach": a. Private to "Michi": i.

"mach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Michi" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machamch · macch · machh · mahc · mcah · mmach
  • Michiimchi · mcihi · micchi · michhi · micih · mihci · mmichi

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mach" for "Michi" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mach" is a verb and "Michi" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mach" or "Michi"?
"mach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #687 in our German list, against #33,186 for "Michi". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Michi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,676,138 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mach" and "Michi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Michal vs Michi". 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 #1,676,138 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