machtevsMähneWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: machte is a verb, Mähne is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“machte” is a verb and “Mähne” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#780
“machte” frequency rank
#37,097
“Mähne” frequency rank
37877
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machte Mähne
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs machen Gesamtheit der langen Haare, die einigen Tieren, zum Beispiel Löwen oder Pferden, am Kopf wachsen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set machte and Mähne apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
machte
5 ch
Mähne

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: machte is [ˈmaxtə] while Mähne is [ˈmɛːnə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37877, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

machte is recorded at frequency rank #780, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxtə]. Mähne is at rank #37,097, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɛːnə].

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 37877, this pair ranks #1,578,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of machte vs Mähne

Shared letters: ehm. Private to "machte": act. Private to "Mähne": .

"machte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "Mähne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machteamchte · macchte · machet · machhte · machtte · macthe · mahcte · mcahte

Frequency comparison

machte#780
Mähne#37,097

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "machte" and "Mähne" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "machte" is a verb and "Mähne" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "machte" or "Mähne"?
"machte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #780 in our German list, against #37,097 for "Mähne". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering machte vs Mähne

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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