Which to use
“Maike” is a name and “makes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,311
- “Maike” frequency rank
- #38,890
- “makes” frequency rank
- 74201
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Maike | makes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | weiblicher Vorname | Plural des Substantivs make |
Where the eye mixes Maike and makes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Maike (CVVCV) and makes (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Maike with makes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Maike is [ˈmaɪ̯kə] 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74201, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Maike is recorded at frequency rank #35,311, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈmaɪ̯kə]. 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 74201, this pair ranks #339,727 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Maike vs makes
Shared letters: aekm. Private to "Maike": i. Private to "makes": s.
"Maike" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "makes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Maike" for "makes" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Maike" or "makes" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Maike" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "makes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #339,727 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Maike" and "makes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "makes vs Mals". 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 #339,727 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.