machivsmauriWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,467
“machi” frequency rank
#28,836
“mauri” frequency rank
70303
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machi mauri
Definition Chamán entre los mapuches, que diagnostica y cura las enfermedades e invoca los espíritus. (Trichomycterus pictus) Pez de hasta 20 cm de largo, cuerpo delgado sin escamas y manchas oscuras sobre un fondo gris y cabeza chata. Nativo de Perú y Bolivia.

Where the eye mixes machi and mauri

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. machi (CVCCV) and mauri (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
machi
5 ch
mauri

Look-alike desk: machi vs mauri

A purely visual mix-up. machi ([ˈmat͡ʃi]) and mauri ([ˈmawɾi]) 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 70303, 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]. mauri is at rank #28,836, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmawɾi].

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 70303, this pair ranks #30,023 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of machi vs mauri

Shared letters: aim. Private to "machi": ch. Private to "mauri": ru.

"machi" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mauri" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machi ← amchi · macchi · machhi · macih · mahci · mcahi · mmachi
  • mauri ← amuri · marui · mauir · maurri · mmauri · muari

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "machi" and "mauri" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmat͡ʃi] versus [ˈmawɾi]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "machi" vs "mauri" - which ranks higher?
"mauri" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,836 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.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "machi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mauri" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #30,023 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "machi" and "mauri" 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 #30,023 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