machevsMappeTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#934
“mache” frequency rank
#26,515
“Mappe” frequency rank
27449
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mache Mappe
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs machen zwei miteinander verbundene, aufklappbare Deckel zum Transport kleinerer Gegenstände

Where the eye mixes mache and Mappe

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

5 ch
mache
5 ch
Mappe

Visual trap between mache and Mappe

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mache is [ˈmaxə] while Mappe is [ˈmapə]. 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 27449, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mache is recorded at frequency rank #934, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxə]. Mappe is at rank #26,515, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmapə].

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 27449, this pair ranks #1,801,608 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mache vs Mappe

Shared letters: aem. Private to "mache": ch. Private to "Mappe": p.

"mache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Mappe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • macheamche · macche · maceh · machhe · mahce · mcahe · mmache
  • Mappeamppe · mape · mapep · mmappe · mpape

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mache" for "Mappe" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mache" is a verb and "Mappe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mache" or "Mappe"?
"mache" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #934 in our German list, against #26,515 for "Mappe". 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 "Mappe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,801,608 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mache" and "Mappe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mappe vs Matze". 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 #1,801,608 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