Which to use
“mache” is a verb and “Mäuse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #934
- “mache” frequency rank
- #12,350
- “Mäuse” frequency rank
- 13284
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mache | Mäuse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs machen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Maus |
Where the eye mixes mache and Mäuse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. mache (CVCCV) and Mäuse (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between mache and Mäuse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mache is [ˈmaxə] while Mäuse is [ˈmɔɪ̯zə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 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 13284, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mache is recorded at frequency rank #934, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxə]. Mäuse is at rank #12,350, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɔɪ̯zə].
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 13284, this pair ranks #1,958,944 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mache vs Mäuse
Shared letters: em. Private to "mache": ach. Private to "Mäuse": suä.
"mache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Mäuse" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mache ← amche · macche · maceh · machhe · mahce · mcahe · mmache
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mache" for "Mäuse" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "mache" or "Mäuse" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Mäuse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,958,944 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mache" and "Mäuse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mäuse vs Mauser". 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 #1,958,944 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.