methodvsmetroWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,684
“method” frequency rank
#10,697
“metro” frequency rank
41381
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature method metro
Definition Art und Weise die U-Bahn

Where the eye mixes method and metro

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

6 ch
method
5 ch
metro

Visual trap between method and metro

A purely visual mix-up. method ([ˈmɛθəd]) 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 41381, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

method is recorded at frequency rank #30,684, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɛθəd]. 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 41381, this pair ranks #1,481,147 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of method vs metro

Shared letters: emot. Private to "method": dh. Private to "metro": r.

"method" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "metro" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • methodemthod · mehtod · methdo · methhod · methodd · metohd · metthod · mmethod
  • metroemtro · merto · metor · metrro · mettro · mmetro · mtero

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "method" for "metro" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɛθəd] versus [ˈmɛːtro]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "method" or "metro" show up more?
"metro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,697 in our German list, against #30,684 for "method". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "method" 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 #1,481,147 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "method" and "metro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "meteor vs method". 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 #1,481,147 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