machvsmocheWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mach is a noun, moche is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mach” is a noun and “moche” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,130
“mach” frequency rank
#44,319
“moche” frequency rank
79449
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mach moche
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. Que pertenece o concierne a un pueblo amerindio originario de la costa norte del Perú.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mach and moche apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
mach
5 ch
moche

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mach is [ˈmat͡ʃ] while moche is [ˈmot͡ʃe]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79449, 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]. moche is at rank #44,319, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmot͡ʃe].

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 79449, this pair ranks #12,998 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mach vs moche

Shared letters: chm. Private to "mach": a. Private to "moche": eo.

"mach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "moche" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machamch · macch · machh · mahc · mcah · mmach
  • mochemcohe · mmoche · mocche · moceh · mochhe · mohce · omche

Frequency comparison

mach#35,130
moche#44,319

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mach" and "moche" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mach" is a noun and "moche" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mach" or "moche"?
"mach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,130 in our Spanish list, against #44,319 for "moche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mach vs moche

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “mach”; for an adjective, it's “moche”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mach” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list