machenvsMargenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#104
“machen” frequency rank
#43,338
“Margen” frequency rank
43442
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machen Margen
Definition in einen bestimmten Zustand versetzen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Marge

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set machen and Margen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
machen
6 ch
Margen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: machen is [ˈmaxn̩] while Margen is [ˈmaʁʒn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43442, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

machen is recorded at frequency rank #104, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxn̩]. Margen is at rank #43,338, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaʁʒn̩].

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 43442, this pair ranks #1,417,976 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of machen vs Margen

Shared letters: aemn. Private to "machen": ch. Private to "Margen": gr.

"machen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Margen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machenamchen · macchen · macehn · machenn · machhen · machne · mahcen · mcahen
  • Margenamrgen · magren · maregn · margenn · marggen · margne · marrgen · mmargen

Frequency comparison

machen#104
Margen#43,338

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "machen" and "Margen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "machen" is a verb and "Margen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "machen" or "Margen"?
"machen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #104 in our German list, against #43,338 for "Margen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering machen vs Margen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “machen”; for a noun, it's “Margen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “machen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list