Which to use
“mach” is a noun and “malo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,130
- “mach” frequency rank
- #826
- “malo” frequency rank
- 35956
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mach | malo |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Se dice de lo que no está bien hecho. |
Where the eye mixes mach and malo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mach with malo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mach is [ˈmat͡ʃ] while malo is [ˈmalo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35956, 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]. malo is at rank #826, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmalo].
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 35956, this pair ranks #183,265 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mach vs malo
Shared letters: am. Private to "mach": ch. Private to "malo": lo.
"mach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "malo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mach" for "malo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mach" vs "malo" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "malo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #183,265 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mach" and "malo" 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 #183,265 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.