Which to use
“machen” and “malen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #104
- “machen” frequency rank
- #5,735
- “malen” frequency rank
- 5839
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | machen | malen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in einen bestimmten Zustand versetzen | mit Farbe bestreichen, anstreichen; mit Farbe bunt verzieren |
Where the eye mixes machen and malen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. machen ([ˈmaxn̩]) and malen ([ˈmaːlən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
machen is recorded at frequency rank #104, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxn̩]. malen is at rank #5,735, 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 5839, this pair ranks #1,993,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of machen vs malen
Shared letters: aemn. Private to "machen": ch. Private to "malen": l.
"machen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "malen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC