MaschevsmatchesConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#16,778
“Masche” frequency rank
#17,983
“matches” frequency rank
34761
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Masche matches
Definition eine aus Garn, Faden, Draht oder Ähnlichem gefertigte Schlinge, die beim Stricken, Häkeln oder durch Verknüpfen entsteht 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs match

Letter map: Masche vs matches

Shared letters muted; letters that set Masche and matches apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.

6 ch
Masche
7 ch
matches

Grammar separator: Masche vs matches

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Masche is anoun and matchesaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34761, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Masche is recorded at frequency rank #16,778, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaʃə]. matches is at rank #17,983, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 34761, this pair ranks #1,655,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Masche vs matches

Shared letters: acehms. Private to "Masche": -. Private to "matches": t.

"Masche" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "matches" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mascheamsche · macshe · mascche · masceh · maschhe · mashce · massche · mmasche
  • matchesamtches · macthes · matcches · matcehs · matchess · matchhes · matchse · mathces

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Masche" and "matches" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Masche" is a noun and "matches" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Masche" or "matches" show up more?
"Masche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,778 in our German list, against #17,983 for "matches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "Masche" and "matches".

  • Full dictionary entry for "Masche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "matches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,655,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Masche" and "matches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "matches vs puzzles". 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 #1,655,900 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