MeisternvsMeternConfusable pair

Which to use

“Meistern” and “Metern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,288
“Meistern” frequency rank
#2,848
“Metern” frequency rank
14136
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Meistern Metern
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Meister Dativ Plural des Substantivs Meter

Where the eye mixes Meistern and Metern

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

8 ch
Meistern
6 ch
Metern

Visual trap between Meistern and Metern

A purely visual mix-up. Meistern ([ˈmaɪ̯stɐn]) and Metern ([ˈmeːtɐn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14136, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Meistern is recorded at frequency rank #11,288, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaɪ̯stɐn]. Metern is at rank #2,848, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmeːtɐn].

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 14136, this pair ranks #1,953,319 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Meistern vs Metern

Shared letters: emnrt. Private to "Meistern": is. Private to "Metern": -.

"Meistern" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC  ·  "Metern" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Meistern ← emistern · meisetrn · meisstern · meistenr · meisternn · meisterrn · meistren · meisttern
  • Metern ← emtern · meetrn · metenr · meternn · meterrn · metren · mettern · mmetern

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Meistern" and "Metern" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmaɪ̯stɐn] versus [ˈmeːtɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Meistern" or "Metern"?
"Metern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,848 in our German list, against #11,288 for "Meistern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Meistern" and "Metern" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Meistern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Metern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,953,319 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Meistern" and "Metern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Metern vs Mieters". 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 #1,953,319 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list