Which to use
“nachgeben” and “nachsehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,353
- “nachgeben” frequency rank
- #14,370
- “nachsehen” frequency rank
- 34723
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nachgeben | nachsehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem von etwas zusätzlich geben | nach Information suchen, eine Recherche durchführen, etwas verifizieren |
Where the eye mixes nachgeben and nachsehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. nachgeben and nachsehen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses nachgeben with nachsehen
A purely visual mix-up. nachgeben ([ˈnaːxˌɡeːbn̩]) and nachsehen ([ˈnaːxˌzeːən]) 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 34723, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nachgeben is recorded at frequency rank #20,353, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌɡeːbn̩]. nachsehen is at rank #14,370, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌzeːən].
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 34723, this pair ranks #1,656,803 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nachgeben vs nachsehen
Shared letters: acehn. Private to "nachgeben": bg. Private to "nachsehen": s.
"nachgeben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "nachsehen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nachgeben" and "nachsehen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "nachgeben" or "nachsehen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "nachgeben" and "nachsehen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "nachgeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nachsehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,656,803 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nachgeben" and "nachsehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nachsehen vs nachzusehen". 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 #1,656,803 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.