marshvsMasseWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#34,252
“marsh” frequency rank
#1,815
“Masse” frequency rank
36067
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature marsh Masse
Definition Sumpf, Sumpfland, Marsch, Marschland die Ursache, dass der Materie Trägheit und Schwere (Gravitation) eigen sind; nach der Relativitätstheorie mit Kraft (Energie) gleichwertig (äquivalent)

Where the eye mixes marsh and Masse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
marsh
5 ch
Masse

Look-alike desk: marsh vs Masse

A purely visual mix-up. marsh ([mɑːʃ]) and Masse ([ˈmasə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

marsh is recorded at frequency rank #34,252, classified as anoun, pronounced [mɑːʃ]. Masse is at rank #1,815, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmasə].

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 36067, this pair ranks #1,624,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of marsh vs Masse

Shared letters: ams. Private to "marsh": hr. Private to "Masse": e.

"marsh" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Masse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • marshamrsh · marhs · marrsh · marshh · marssh · masrh · mmarsh · mrash
  • Masseamsse · mase · mases · maße · mmasse · msase

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "marsh" and "Masse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([mɑːʃ] versus [ˈmasə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "marsh" vs "Masse" - which ranks higher?
"Masse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,815 in our German list, against #34,252 for "marsh". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "marsh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Masse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,624,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "marsh" and "Masse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mals vs marsh". 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 #1,624,772 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list