Which to use
“Macho” and “Macke” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,822
- “Macho” frequency rank
- #34,248
- “Macke” frequency rank
- 59070
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Macho | Macke |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | abwertend: ein sich übertrieben männlich gebender Mann | sonderbare Eigenart |
Where the eye mixes Macho and Macke
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Macho and Macke follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: Macho vs Macke
A purely visual mix-up. Macho ([ˈmat͡ʃo]) and Macke ([ˈmakə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59070, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Macho is recorded at frequency rank #24,822, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmat͡ʃo]. Macke is at rank #34,248, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmakə].
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 59070, this pair ranks #838,494 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Macho vs Macke
Shared letters: acm. Private to "Macho": ho. Private to "Macke": ek.
"Macho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Macke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Macho" and "Macke" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Macho" or "Macke"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Macho" and "Macke" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Macho" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Macke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #838,494 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Macho" and "Macke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Macke vs Matze". 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 #838,494 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.