machevsMacheteTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#934
“mache” frequency rank
#30,676
“Machete” frequency rank
31610
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mache Machete
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs machen Messer zur Ernte landwirtschaftlicher Produkte, Buschmesser

Where the eye mixes mache and Machete

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
mache
7 ch
Machete

Visual trap between mache and Machete

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mache is [ˈmaxə] while Machete is [maˈxeːtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “mache” sits inside “Machete”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31610, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mache is recorded at frequency rank #934, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxə]. Machete is at rank #30,676, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maˈxeːtə].

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 31610, this pair ranks #1,724,678 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mache vs Machete

Shared letters: acehm. Private to "mache": -. Private to "Machete": t.

"mache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Machete" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • macheamche · macche · maceh · machhe · mahce · mcahe · mmache
  • Macheteamchete · macchete · macehte · macheet · machette · machhete · machtee · mahcete

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mache" for "Machete" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mache" is a verb and "Machete" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "mache" or "Machete" show up more?
"mache" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #934 in our German list, against #30,676 for "Machete". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "mache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Machete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,724,678 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mache" and "Machete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Machete vs magnete". 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 #1,724,678 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