machenvsmachstWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“machen” and “machst” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#104
“machen” frequency rank
#1,455
“machst” frequency rank
1559
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machen machst
Definition in einen bestimmten Zustand versetzen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs machen

Where the eye mixes machen and machst

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

6 ch
machen
6 ch
machst

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. machen ([ˈmaxn̩]) and machst ([maxst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1559, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

machen is recorded at frequency rank #104, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxn̩]. machst is at rank #1,455, tagged as averb, pronounced [maxst].

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 1559, this pair ranks #2,004,123 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of machen vs machst

Shared letters: achm. Private to "machen": en. Private to "machst": st.

"machen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "machst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machenamchen · macchen · macehn · machenn · machhen · machne · mahcen · mcahen
  • machstamchst · macchst · machhst · machsst · machstt · machts · macsht · mahcst

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "machen" and "machst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmaxn̩] versus [maxst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "machen" or "machst"?
"machen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #104 in our German list, against #1,455 for "machst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "machen" and "machst". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "machen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "machst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,004,123 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "machen" and "machst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "machen vs mailen". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list