machvsmariWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“mach” and “mari” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#35,130
“mach” frequency rank
#12,867
“mari” frequency rank
47997
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mach mari
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. Mar.

Where the eye mixes mach and mari

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. mach (CVCC) and mari (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
mach
4 ch
mari

Why the eye confuses mach with mari

A purely visual mix-up. mach ([ˈmat͡ʃ]) and mari (/ˈma.ɾi/) 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 47997, 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]. mari is at rank #12,867, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.ɾi/.

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 47997, this pair ranks #116,908 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mach vs mari

Shared letters: am. Private to "mach": ch. Private to "mari": ir.

"mach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "mari" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machamch · macch · machh · mahc · mcah · mmach
  • mariamri · mair · marri · mmari · mrai

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mach" and "mari" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmat͡ʃ] versus /ˈma.ɾi/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "mach" or "mari" show up more?
"mari" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,867 in our Spanish list, against #35,130 for "mach". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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 "mari" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #116,908 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mach" and "mari" 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 #116,908 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list