machinevsMaschinenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,337
“machine” frequency rank
#2,666
“Maschinen” frequency rank
15003
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machine Maschinen
Definition ein Apparat mit vielen beweglichen Teilen; gestaltet um eine Aufgabe zu erfüllen. Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Maschine

Letter map: machine vs Maschinen

Shared letters muted; letters that set machine and Maschinen apart highlighted. Shared run: 7.

7 ch
machine
9 ch
Maschinen

Corpus notes: machine and Maschinen

machine and Maschinen are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15003, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

machine is recorded at frequency rank #12,337, classified as anoun, pronounced […]. Maschinen is at rank #2,666, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maˈʃiːnən].

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 15003, this pair ranks #1,947,154 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of machine vs Maschinen

Shared letters: acehimn. Private to "machine": -. Private to "Maschinen": s.

"machine" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "Maschinen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machineamchine · macchine · machhine · machien · machinne · machnie · macihne · mahcine
  • Maschinenamschinen · macshinen · mascchinen · maschhinen · maschienn · maschinenn · maschinnen · maschnien

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "machine" and "Maschinen" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "machine" vs "Maschinen" - which ranks higher?
"Maschinen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,666 in our German list, against #12,337 for "machine". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pair "machine" vs "Maschinen" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "machine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Maschinen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,947,154 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "machine" and "Maschinen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "machine 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 #1,947,154 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