Which to use
“Metalle” is a noun and “metallic” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,827
- “Metalle” frequency rank
- #41,991
- “metallic” frequency rank
- 64818
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Metalle | metallic |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Metall | metallisch glänzend |
Where the eye mixes Metalle and metallic
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Metalle runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against metallic's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Metalle and metallic
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Metalle is [meˈtalə] while metallic is [meˈtalɪk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64818, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Metalle is recorded at frequency rank #22,827, classified as anoun, pronounced [meˈtalə]. metallic is at rank #41,991, tagged as anadj, pronounced [meˈtalɪk].
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 64818, this pair ranks #628,196 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Metalle vs metallic
Shared letters: aelmt. Private to "Metalle": -. Private to "metallic": ci.
"Metalle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "metallic" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Metalle" and "metallic" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Metalle" or "metallic"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Metalle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "metallic" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #628,196 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Metalle" and "metallic" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "metallic vs metallisch". 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 #628,196 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.