machevsMöncheWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#934
“mache” frequency rank
#12,544
“Mönche” frequency rank
13478
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mache Mönche
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs machen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Mönch

Where the eye mixes mache and Mönche

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
mache
6 ch
Mönche

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mache is [ˈmaxə] while Mönche is [ˈmœnçə]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13478, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mache is recorded at frequency rank #934, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxə]. Mönche is at rank #12,544, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmœnçə].

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 13478, this pair ranks #1,957,734 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mache vs Mönche

Shared letters: cehm. Private to "mache": a. Private to "Mönche": .

"mache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Mönche" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • macheamche · macche · maceh · machhe · mahce · mcahe · mmache

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mache" and "Mönche" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mache" is a verb and "Mönche" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mache" or "Mönche"?
"mache" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #934 in our German list, against #12,544 for "Mönche". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list