metrovsMikroWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,697
“metro” frequency rank
#11,931
“Mikro” frequency rank
22628
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature metro Mikro
Definition die U-Bahn technisches Gerät zur Aufnahme von Tönen

Where the eye mixes metro and Mikro

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. metro and Mikro follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
metro
5 ch
Mikro

Look-alike desk: metro vs Mikro

A purely visual mix-up. metro ([ˈmɛːtro]) and Mikro ([ˈmiːkʁo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22628, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

metro is recorded at frequency rank #10,697, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɛːtro]. Mikro is at rank #11,931, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmiːkʁo].

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 22628, this pair ranks #1,871,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of metro vs Mikro

Shared letters: mor. Private to "metro": et. Private to "Mikro": ik.

"metro" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Mikro" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • metro ← emtro · merto · metor · metrro · mettro · mmetro · mtero
  • Mikro ← imkro · mikkro · mikor · mikrro · mirko · mkiro · mmikro

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "metro" and "Mikro" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɛːtro] versus [ˈmiːkʁo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "metro" vs "Mikro" - which ranks higher?
"metro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,697 in our German list, against #11,931 for "Mikro". 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 "metro" and "Mikro" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "metro" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Mikro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,871,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "metro" and "Mikro" 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 #1,871,809 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