Which to use
“Macht” is a noun and “machte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #134
- “Macht” frequency rank
- #780
- “machte” frequency rank
- 914
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Macht | machte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fähigkeit, auf andere Einfluss ausüben zu können, auch gegen deren Willen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs machen |
Where the eye mixes Macht and machte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Macht runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against machte's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Macht with machte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Macht is [maxt] while machte is [ˈmaxtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Macht” sits inside “machte”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 914, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Macht is recorded at frequency rank #134, classified as anoun, pronounced [maxt]. machte is at rank #780, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxtə].
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 914, this pair ranks #2,005,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Macht vs machte
Shared letters: achmt. Private to "Macht": -. Private to "machte": e.
"Macht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "machte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Macht" and "machte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Macht" or "machte"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Macht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "machte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,005,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Macht" and "machte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Macht vs Mascha". 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 #2,005,167 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.