metallischvsmetallischeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#47,586
“metallisch” frequency rank
#49,080
“metallische” frequency rank
96666
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature metallisch metallische
Definition aus Metall bestehend, Eigenschaften von Metall aufweisend Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs metallisch

Where the eye mixes metallisch and metallische

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. metallisch runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVCCC) against metallische's 11 (CVCVCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
metallisch
11 ch
metallische

Look-alike desk: metallisch vs metallische

A purely visual mix-up. metallisch ([meˈtalɪʃ]) and metallische ([meˈtalɪʃə]) 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) - “metallisch” sits inside “metallische”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96666, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

metallisch is recorded at frequency rank #47,586, classified as anadj, pronounced [meˈtalɪʃ]. metallische is at rank #49,080, tagged as anadj, pronounced [meˈtalɪʃə].

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 96666, this pair ranks #6,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of metallisch vs metallische

Shared letters: acehilmst. Private to "metallisch": -. Private to "metallische": -.

"metallisch" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCC  ·  "metallische" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • metallisch ← emtallisch · meatllisch · metalilsch · metalisch · metallicsh · metalliscch · metallischh · metallishc
  • metallische ← emtallische · meatllische · metalilsche · metalische · metallicshe · metalliscche · metallisceh · metallischhe

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "metallisch" and "metallische" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([meˈtalɪʃ] versus [meˈtalɪʃə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "metallisch" vs "metallische" - which ranks higher?
"metallisch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #47,586 in our German list, against #49,080 for "metallische". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "metallisch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "metallische" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #6,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "metallisch" and "metallische" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "metallische vs metallischen". 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 #6,414 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