Which to use
“machine” is a noun and “malu” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,337
- “machine” frequency rank
- #46,130
- “malu” frequency rank
- 58467
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | machine | malu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Apparat mit vielen beweglichen Teilen; gestaltet um eine Aufgabe zu erfüllen. | erst, erst einmal |
Letter map: machine vs malu
Shared letters muted; letters that set machine and malu apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. machine runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against malu's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Role in the sentence - machine and malu
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: machine is anoun and maluanadverb. On the page they differ by 3 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
machine is recorded at frequency rank #12,337, classified as anoun, pronounced […]. malu is at rank #46,130, tagged as anadv, pronounced […].
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 58467, this pair ranks #861,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of machine vs malu
Shared letters: am. Private to "machine": cehin. Private to "malu": lu.
"machine" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "malu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "machine" for "malu" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "machine" or "malu" show up more?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "machine" and "malu".
- Full dictionary entry for "machine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "malu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #861,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "machine" and "malu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "malu vs puzzles". 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 #861,669 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.