metallischvsmetallischenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#47,586
“metallisch” frequency rank
#41,343
“metallischen” frequency rank
88929
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature metallisch metallischen
Definition aus Metall bestehend, Eigenschaften von Metall aufweisend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs metallisch

Where the eye mixes metallisch and metallischen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. metallisch runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVCCC) against metallischen's 12 (CVCVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
metallisch
12 ch
metallischen

Why the eye confuses metallisch with metallischen

A purely visual mix-up. metallisch ([meˈtalɪʃ]) and metallischen ([meˈtalɪʃn̩]) 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) - “metallisch” sits inside “metallischen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88929, 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]. metallischen is at rank #41,343, tagged as anadj, pronounced [meˈtalɪʃn̩].

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 88929, this pair ranks #62,868 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of metallisch vs metallischen

Shared letters: acehilmst. Private to "metallisch": -. Private to "metallischen": n.

"metallisch" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCC  ·  "metallischen" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • metallisch ← emtallisch · meatllisch · metalilsch · metalisch · metallicsh · metalliscch · metallischh · metallishc
  • metallischen ← emtallischen · meatllischen · metalilschen · metalischen · metallicshen · metalliscchen · metalliscehn · metallischenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "metallisch" for "metallischen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([meˈtalɪʃ] versus [meˈtalɪʃn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "metallisch" or "metallischen"?
"metallischen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,343 in our German list, against #47,586 for "metallisch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "metallisch" and "metallischen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "metallisch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "metallischen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #62,868 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "metallisch" and "metallischen" 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 #62,868 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