Which to use
“mach” and “main” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,130
- “mach” frequency rank
- #19,788
- “main” frequency rank
- 54918
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mach | main |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Medida de velocidad relativa que se define como el cociente entre la velocidad de un objeto y la velocidad del sonido en el medio en que se mueve dicho objeto. | Mano. |
Where the eye mixes mach and main
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mach with main
A purely visual mix-up. mach ([ˈmat͡ʃ]) and main (/mɛ̃/) 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 54918, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mach is recorded at frequency rank #35,130, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmat͡ʃ]. main is at rank #19,788, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɛ̃/.
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 54918, this pair ranks #81,215 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mach vs main
Shared letters: am. Private to "mach": ch. Private to "main": in.
"mach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "main" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mach" and "main" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mach" or "main"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "main" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #81,215 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mach" and "main" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mach vs math". 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 #81,215 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.