machuvsmechaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#30,558
“machu” frequency rank
#19,797
“mecha” frequency rank
50355
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machu mecha
Definition Viejo, anciano Cuerda preparada para arder de distintas maneras, usada en velas o explosivos.

Where the eye mixes machu and mecha

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

5 ch
machu
5 ch
mecha

Look-alike desk: machu vs mecha

A purely visual mix-up. machu ([ˈma.ʧu]) and mecha ([ˈmet͡ʃa]) 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 50355, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

machu is recorded at frequency rank #30,558, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈma.ʧu]. mecha is at rank #19,797, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmet͡ʃa].

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 50355, this pair ranks #103,652 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of machu vs mecha

Shared letters: achm. Private to "machu": u. Private to "mecha": e.

"machu" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mecha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machuamchu · macchu · machhu · macuh · mahcu · mcahu · mmachu
  • mechaemcha · mceha · mecah · meccha · mechha · mehca · mmecha

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "machu" and "mecha" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈma.ʧu] versus [ˈmet͡ʃa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "machu" or "mecha" show up more?
"mecha" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,797 in our Spanish list, against #30,558 for "machu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "machu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mecha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #103,652 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "machu" and "mecha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "machu 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 #103,652 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