---
title: Using TM Matches and MT Suggestions
description: When you open a segment for translation, Matecat will automatically pre-populate it with the best TM or MT match available. By design, if the machine translation is not enabled, Matecat populates the
---

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# Using TM Matches and MT Suggestions

When you open a segment for translation, Matecat will automatically pre-populate it with the best TM or MT match available.

By design, if the machine translation is **not enabled**, Matecat populates the segments only if it detects a match from the TM, which is **higher than 70%**, otherwise, it will leave the target segment blank.

When the machine translation is **enabled**, Matecat populates the segments with matches from the TM, only if they are **higher than 85%** otherwise, it will use MT suggestions.

![MT match](https://guides.matecat.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MT%20match.png?width=670&height=149&name=MT%20match.png)

**Translation Matches** **tab** - This tab shows you the three highest matches available for the current segment, including the match percentage, its source and its creation date. Use the shortcut CTRL+1/2/3 to choose and edit one of the options.

You will receive **TM suggestions** if you add a [private TM key](https://guides.matecat.com/public-tm-and-translation-memory-key-tm-key?hsLang=en) to the project or fuzzy matches found in the [public translation memory](https://guides.matecat.com/public-tm-and-translation-memory-key-tm-key?hsLang=en), as well as **MT suggestions** if activated.

The suggestions are ranked according to their match percentage, from the highest to the lowest. The MT suggestions are allocated an **85% match by default**. As previously mentioned, in the absence of higher matching percentages, the MT will be displayed in the first place.

For every TM suggestion, its **source**, **match percentage** and **creation date** are indicated in the corner of every entry, as in the screenshot below:

![](https://guides.matecat.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-392.png?width=670&name=image-392.png)

 Example includes:  
a **98% match** from the [private TM key](https://guides.matecat.com/public-tm-and-translation-memory-key-tm-key?hsLang=en) added to the project (the private TM key is shown as the **source** of the suggestion) as the first suggestion, and therefore used to automatically populate the segment;  
the **Machine Translation** **suggestion** (with the corresponding source label **MT**)   
a **67% match** from the **public TM** (**source** is “anonymous” here) as the third suggestion;  
Depending on the source of the match and the match percentage, the following labels can be displayed:

![](https://guides.matecat.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-53.png?width=70&name=image-53.png)

**101% matches** from the Translation Memory

![](https://guides.matecat.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-393.png?width=90&name=image-393.png)

**100% matches** from the Translation Memory

![](https://guides.matecat.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-394.png?width=90&name=image-394.png)

**Fuzzy matches** from the Translation Memory. 

![](https://guides.matecat.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-55.png?width=80&name=image-55.png)

**Machine Translation** suggestions

 

There are two ways of **selecting and inserting the preferred suggestion** into the target segment:

- use the **shortcut** CTRL+\[1/2/3\] depending on the corresponding suggestion you have chosen, or
- **double-click** on the match of your choice.

To **remove a TM match** from the translation memory, hover over it and click on the dustbin icon

![](https://guides.matecat.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-57.png?width=69&name=image-57.png)

on the right.

*NOTE: Use the removal tool **only if** you want to **delete the match from the translation memory** because the target text is not the correct translation of the source text. Do not delete it if you think it is not the correct suggestion for your current segment.*

 

 

 

 

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