máquinavsMarquinaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: máquina is a noun, Marquina is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“máquina” is a noun and “Marquina” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,356
“máquina” frequency rank
#48,527
“Marquina” frequency rank
50883
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature máquina Marquina
Definition Aparato compuesto de varias partes que interactúan para la ejecución de determinada tarea que requiere cierta energía. Apellido.

Where the eye mixes máquina and Marquina

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. máquina runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against Marquina's 8 (CVCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
máquina
8 ch
Marquina

Why the eye confuses máquina with Marquina

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: máquina is [ˈmakina] while Marquina is [maɾˈkina]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50883, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

máquina is recorded at frequency rank #2,356, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmakina]. Marquina is at rank #48,527, tagged as aname, pronounced [maɾˈkina].

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 50883, this pair ranks #100,818 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of máquina vs Marquina

Shared letters: aimnqu. Private to "máquina": á. Private to "Marquina": r.

"máquina" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "Marquina" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Marquina ← amrquina · maqruina · marqiuna · marqquina · marquian · marquinna · marqunia · marrquina

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "máquina" for "Marquina" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "máquina" is a noun and "Marquina" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "máquina" or "Marquina"?
"máquina" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,356 in our Spanish list, against #48,527 for "Marquina". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "máquina" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Marquina" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #100,818 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "máquina" and "Marquina" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Marquina vs mezquina". 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 #100,818 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