machte vs mischte, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#780
“machte” frequency rank: #30,203
“mischte” frequency rank: 30983
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	machte	mischte
Definition	1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs machen	1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs mischen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set machte and mischte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

machte

7 ch

mischte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. machte ([ˈmaxtə]) and mischte ([ˈmɪʃtə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

machte is recorded at frequency rank #780, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxtə]. mischte is at rank #30,203, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɪʃtə].

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 30983, this pair ranks #1,737,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of machte vs mischte

Shared letters: cehmt. Private to "machte": a. Private to "mischte": is.

"machte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "mischte" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

machte ← amchte · macchte · machet · machhte · machtte · macthe · mahcte · mcahte
mischte ← imschte · micshte · miscchte · mischet · mischhte · mischtte · miscthe · mishcte

Frequency comparison

machte#780

mischte#30,203

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "machte" and "mischte" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈmaxtə] versus [ˈmɪʃtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "machte" or "mischte"?

"machte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #780 in our German list, against #30,203 for "mischte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering machte vs mischte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
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