MachernvsMalernWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#38,269
“Machern” frequency rank
#40,689
“Malern” frequency rank
78958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Machern Malern
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Macher Dativ Plural des Substantivs Maler

Where the eye mixes Machern and Malern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Machern
6 ch
Malern

Why the eye confuses Machern with Malern

A purely visual mix-up. Machern ([ˈmaxɐn]) and Malern ([ˈmaːlɐn]) 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 78958, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Machern is recorded at frequency rank #38,269, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaxɐn]. Malern is at rank #40,689, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaːlɐn].

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 78958, this pair ranks #226,823 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Machern vs Malern

Shared letters: aemnr. Private to "Machern": ch. Private to "Malern": l.

"Machern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Malern" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Machernamchern · macchern · macehrn · machenr · machernn · macherrn · machhern · machren
  • Malernamlern · maelrn · malenr · malernn · malerrn · mallern · malren · mlaern

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Machern" and "Malern" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmaxɐn] versus [ˈmaːlɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Machern" or "Malern" show up more?
"Machern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,269 in our German list, against #40,689 for "Malern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Machern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Malern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #226,823 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Machern" and "Malern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mailen vs Malern". 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 #226,823 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list