machevsmachineConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#934
“mache” frequency rank
#12,337
“machine” frequency rank
13271
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mache machine
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs machen ein Apparat mit vielen beweglichen Teilen; gestaltet um eine Aufgabe zu erfüllen.

Letter map: mache vs machine

Shared letters muted; letters that set mache and machine apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. mache runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against machine's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
mache
7 ch
machine

Grammar separator: mache vs machine

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mache is averb and machineanoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13271, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mache is recorded at frequency rank #934, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxə]. machine is at rank #12,337, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 13271, this pair ranks #1,959,016 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mache vs machine

Shared letters: acehm. Private to "mache": -. Private to "machine": in.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mache ← amche · macche · maceh · machhe · mahce · mcahe · mmache
  • machine ← amchine · macchine · machhine · machien · machinne · machnie · macihne · mahcine

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mache" and "machine" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mache" is a verb and "machine" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mache" or "machine"?
"mache" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #934 in our German list, against #12,337 for "machine". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

You've compared "mache" and "machine". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "machine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,959,016 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mache" and "machine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "machine vs puzzles". 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 #1,959,016 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