machinesvsmarinesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: machines is a noun, marines is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“machines” is a noun and “marines” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,439
“machines” frequency rank
#33,182
“marines” frequency rank
78621
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machines marines
Definition Plural von des Substantivs machine Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs marin

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set machines and marines apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
machines
7 ch
marines

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: machines is anoun and marinesanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

machines is recorded at frequency rank #45,439, classified as anoun, pronounced […]. marines is at rank #33,182, tagged as anadj, pronounced [maˈʁiːnəs].

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 78621, this pair ranks #234,182 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of machines vs marines

Shared letters: aeimns. Private to "machines": ch. Private to "marines": r.

"machines" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "marines" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machinesamchines · macchines · machhines · machiens · machiness · machinnes · machinse · machnies
  • marinesamrines · mairnes · mariens · mariness · marinnes · marinse · marnies · marrines

Frequency comparison

machines#45,439
marines#33,182

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "machines" and "marines" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "machines" is a noun and "marines" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "machines" or "marines"?
"marines" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,182 in our German list, against #45,439 for "machines". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering machines vs marines

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “machines”; for an adjective, it's “marines”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “machines” 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