Which to use
“machen” and “mannen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #104
- “machen” frequency rank
- #34,797
- “mannen” frequency rank
- 34901
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | machen | mannen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in einen bestimmten Zustand versetzen | etwas von Mann zu Mann reichen |
Where the eye mixes machen and mannen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. machen and mannen 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 mannen
A purely visual mix-up. machen ([ˈmaxn̩]) and mannen ([ˈmanən]) 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 34901, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
machen is recorded at frequency rank #104, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxn̩]. mannen is at rank #34,797, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmanən].
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 34901, this pair ranks #1,652,672 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of machen vs mannen
Shared letters: aemn. Private to "machen": ch. Private to "mannen": -.
"machen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mannen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "machen" and "mannen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "machen" or "mannen" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "machen" and "mannen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "machen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mannen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,652,672 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "machen" and "mannen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mailen vs mannen". 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 #1,652,672 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.