MetallvsMetalleWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,448
“Metall” frequency rank
#22,827
“Metalle” frequency rank
27275
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Metall Metalle
Definition fester Stoff mit charakteristischem Glanz sowie hoher Wärme- und Stromleitfähigkeit Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Metall

Where the eye mixes Metall and Metalle

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

6 ch
Metall
7 ch
Metalle

Look-alike desk: Metall vs Metalle

A purely visual mix-up. Metall ([meˈtal]) and Metalle ([meˈtalə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Metall” sits inside “Metalle”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27275, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Metall is recorded at frequency rank #4,448, classified as anoun, pronounced [meˈtal]. Metalle is at rank #22,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced [meˈtalə].

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 27275, this pair ranks #1,804,437 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Metall vs Metalle

Shared letters: aelmt. Private to "Metall": -. Private to "Metalle": -.

"Metall" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Metalle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Metall ← emtall · meatll · metlal · mettall · mmetall · mteall
  • Metalle ← emtalle · meatlle · metale · metalel · metlale · mettalle · mmetalle · mtealle

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Metall" for "Metalle" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([meˈtal] versus [meˈtalə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Metall" vs "Metalle" - which ranks higher?
"Metall" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,448 in our German list, against #22,827 for "Metalle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Metall" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Metalle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,804,437 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Metall" and "Metalle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Metalle vs metallic". 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 #1,804,437 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