Which to use
“machen” and “mahlen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #104
- “machen” frequency rank
- #37,068
- “mahlen” frequency rank
- 37172
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | machen | mahlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in einen bestimmten Zustand versetzen | Material (mit einer Mühle) zerkleinern, indem es gerieben und gequetscht wird |
Where the eye mixes machen and mahlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. machen and mahlen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses machen with mahlen
A purely visual mix-up. machen ([ˈmaxn̩]) and mahlen ([ˈmaːlən]) 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 37172, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
machen is recorded at frequency rank #104, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxn̩]. mahlen is at rank #37,068, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmaːlən].
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 37172, this pair ranks #1,597,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of machen vs mahlen
Shared letters: aehmn. Private to "machen": c. Private to "mahlen": l.
"machen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mahlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "machen" for "mahlen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "machen" or "mahlen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "machen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mahlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,597,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "machen" and "mahlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mahlen 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
Confusion rank #1,597,008 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.