mähenvsmakesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#27,426
“mähen” frequency rank
#38,890
“makes” frequency rank
66316
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mähen makes
Definition mit der Sense, Sichel, mit einer Mähmaschine Pflanzen bis zum Ansatz dicht über dem Erdboden wegschneiden Plural des Substantivs make

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mähen and makes apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
mähen
5 ch
makes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mähen is [ˈmɛːən] while makes is [meɪks]. 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 66316, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mähen is recorded at frequency rank #27,426, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛːən]. makes is at rank #38,890, tagged as anoun, pronounced [meɪks].

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 66316, this pair ranks #577,445 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mähen vs makes

Shared letters: em. Private to "mähen": hnä. Private to "makes": aks.

"mähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "makes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • makesamkes · maeks · makess · makkes · mkaes · mmakes

Frequency comparison

mähen#27,426
makes#38,890

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mähen" and "makes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mähen" is a verb and "makes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mähen" or "makes"?
"mähen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,426 in our German list, against #38,890 for "makes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mähen vs makes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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