machivsmamiWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#41,467
“machi” frequency rank
#5,634
“mami” frequency rank
47101
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machi mami
Definition Chamán entre los mapuches, que diagnostica y cura las enfermedades e invoca los espíritus. Diminutivo de mamá (madre, progenitora).

Where the eye mixes machi and mami

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
machi
4 ch
mami

Why the eye confuses machi with mami

A purely visual mix-up. machi ([ˈmat͡ʃi]) and mami ([ˈmami]) 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 47101, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

machi is recorded at frequency rank #41,467, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmat͡ʃi]. mami is at rank #5,634, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmami].

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 47101, this pair ranks #121,934 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of machi vs mami

Shared letters: aim. Private to "machi": ch. Private to "mami": -.

"machi" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mami" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machiamchi · macchi · machhi · macih · mahci · mcahi · mmachi
  • mamiammi · maim · mammi · mmai · mmami

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "machi" and "mami" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmat͡ʃi] versus [ˈmami]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "machi" or "mami"?
"mami" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,634 in our Spanish list, against #41,467 for "machi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "machi" and "mami" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "machi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mami" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #121,934 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "machi" and "mami" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "machi 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 #121,934 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