machvsmatchWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#35,130
“mach” frequency rank
#19,795
“match” frequency rank
54925
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mach match
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. Cerilla, cerillo.

Where the eye mixes mach and match

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

4 ch
mach
5 ch
match

Look-alike desk: mach vs match

A purely visual mix-up. mach ([ˈmat͡ʃ]) and match (/mæt͡ʃ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54925, 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]. match is at rank #19,795, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mæt͡ʃ/.

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 54925, this pair ranks #81,188 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mach vs match

Shared letters: achm. Private to "mach": -. Private to "match": t.

"mach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "match" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machamch · macch · machh · mahc · mcah · mmach
  • matchamtch · macth · matcch · matchh · mathc · mattch · mmatch · mtach

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "mach" and "match" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmat͡ʃ] versus /mæt͡ʃ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "mach" vs "match" - which ranks higher?
"match" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,795 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 "match" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #81,188 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mach" and "match" 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 #81,188 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