MeternvsmetroWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,848
“Metern” frequency rank
#10,697
“metro” frequency rank
13545
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Metern metro
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Meter die U-Bahn

Where the eye mixes Metern and metro

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Metern
5 ch
metro

Visual trap between Metern and metro

A purely visual mix-up. Metern ([ˈmeːtɐn]) and metro ([ˈmɛːtro]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Metern is recorded at frequency rank #2,848, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmeːtɐn]. metro is at rank #10,697, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɛːtro].

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 13545, this pair ranks #1,957,296 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Metern vs metro

Shared letters: emrt. Private to "Metern": n. Private to "metro": o.

"Metern" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "metro" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Meternemtern · meetrn · metenr · meternn · meterrn · metren · mettern · mmetern
  • metroemtro · merto · metor · metrro · mettro · mmetro · mtero

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Metern" and "metro" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmeːtɐn] versus [ˈmɛːtro]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Metern" vs "metro" - which ranks higher?
"Metern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,848 in our German list, against #10,697 for "metro". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Metern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "metro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,957,296 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Metern" and "metro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "metro vs Mette". 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 #1,957,296 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