machinvsMahonWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: machin is a noun, Mahon is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“machin” is a noun and “Mahon” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,738
“machin” frequency rank
#38,409
“Mahon” frequency rank
49147
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature machin Mahon
Definition Mot général utilisé pour désigner une notion ou un objet qu’on ne veut pas ou qu’on ne sait pas nommer plus précisément (pour une personne on dit : Machin). Jurement blasphématoire.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set machin and Mahon apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
machin
5 ch
Mahon

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: machin is anoun and Mahonanintj. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49147, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

machin is recorded at frequency rank #10,738, classified as anoun, pronounced \ma.ʃɛ̃\. Mahon is at rank #38,409, tagged as anintj.

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 49147, this pair ranks #173,085 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of machin vs Mahon

Shared letters: ahmn. Private to "machin": ci. Private to "Mahon": o.

"machin" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Mahon" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • machinamchin · macchin · machhin · machinn · machni · macihn · mahcin · mcahin
  • Mahonamhon · mahhon · mahno · mahonn · maohn · mhaon · mmahon

Frequency comparison

machin#10,738
Mahon#38,409

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "machin" and "Mahon" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "machin" is a noun and "Mahon" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "machin" or "Mahon"?
"machin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,738 in our French list, against #38,409 for "Mahon". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering machin vs Mahon

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “machin”; for an intj, it's “Mahon”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “machin” 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