Which to use
“Metall” and “Metallen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,448
- “Metall” frequency rank
- #32,165
- “Metallen” frequency rank
- 36613
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Metall | Metallen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fester Stoff mit charakteristischem Glanz sowie hoher Wärme- und Stromleitfähigkeit | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Metall |
Where the eye mixes Metall and Metallen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Metall with Metallen
A purely visual mix-up. Metall ([meˈtal]) and Metallen ([meˈtalən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Metall” sits inside “Metallen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36613, 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]. Metallen is at rank #32,165, tagged as anoun, pronounced [meˈtalən].
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 36613, this pair ranks #1,611,101 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Metall vs Metallen
Shared letters: aelmt. Private to "Metall": -. Private to "Metallen": n.
"Metall" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "Metallen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Metall" for "Metallen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Metall" or "Metallen" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "Metallen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,611,101 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Metall" and "Metallen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Metallen 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 #1,611,101 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.