Which to use
“metallic” and “metallisch” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,991
- “metallic” frequency rank
- #47,586
- “metallisch” frequency rank
- 89577
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | metallic | metallisch |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | metallisch glänzend | aus Metall bestehend, Eigenschaften von Metall aufweisend |
Where the eye mixes metallic and metallisch
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. metallic runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against metallisch's 10 (CVCVCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: metallic vs metallisch
A purely visual mix-up. metallic ([meˈtalɪk]) and metallisch ([meˈtalɪʃ]) 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 89577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
metallic is recorded at frequency rank #41,991, classified as anadj, pronounced [meˈtalɪk]. metallisch is at rank #47,586, tagged as anadj, pronounced [meˈtalɪʃ].
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 89577, this pair ranks #55,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of metallic vs metallisch
Shared letters: aceilmt. Private to "metallic": -. Private to "metallisch": hs.
"metallic" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "metallisch" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- metallic ← emtallic · meatllic · metalic · metalilc · metallci · metallicc · metlalic · mettallic
- metallisch ← emtallisch · meatllisch · metalilsch · metalisch · metallicsh · metalliscch · metallischh · metallishc
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "metallic" for "metallisch" ever safe?
Which is more common, "metallic" or "metallisch"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "metallic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "metallisch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #55,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "metallic" and "metallisch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "metallisch vs metallische". 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 #55,755 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.