machtenvsMaschenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,507
“machten” frequency rank
#23,614
“Maschen” frequency rank
26121
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machten Maschen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs machen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Masche

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
machten
7 ch
Maschen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: machten is [ˈmaxtn̩] while Maschen is [ˈmaʃn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

machten is recorded at frequency rank #2,507, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmaxtn̩]. Maschen is at rank #23,614, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaʃn̩].

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 26121, this pair ranks #1,822,828 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of machten vs Maschen

Shared letters: acehmn. Private to "machten": t. Private to "Maschen": s.

"machten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "Maschen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machtenamchten · macchten · machetn · machhten · machtenn · machtne · machtten · macthen
  • Maschenamschen · macshen · mascchen · mascehn · maschenn · maschhen · maschne · mashcen

Frequency comparison

machten#2,507
Maschen#23,614

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "machten" and "Maschen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "machten" is a verb and "Maschen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "machten" or "Maschen"?
"machten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,507 in our German list, against #23,614 for "Maschen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering machten vs Maschen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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