Which to use
“nachlegen” and “nahelegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,103
- “nachlegen” frequency rank
- #44,096
- “nahelegen” frequency rank
- 81199
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nachlegen | nahelegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mehr Material aufs Feuer legen, damit es weiterbrennt; mehr davon hinlegen | jemandem etwas (höflich aber bestimmt) empfehlen, anraten |
Where the eye mixes nachlegen and nahelegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. nachlegen (CVCCCVCVC) and nahelegen (CVCVCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses nachlegen with nahelegen
A purely visual mix-up. nachlegen ([ˈnaːxˌleːɡn̩]) and nahelegen ([ˈnaːəˌleːɡn̩]) 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 81199, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nachlegen is recorded at frequency rank #37,103, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌleːɡn̩]. nahelegen is at rank #44,096, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnaːəˌleːɡn̩].
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 81199, this pair ranks #180,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of nachlegen vs nahelegen
Shared letters: aeghln. Private to "nachlegen": c. Private to "nahelegen": -.
"nachlegen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "nahelegen" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nachlegen" and "nahelegen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "nachlegen" or "nahelegen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "nachlegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nahelegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #180,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nachlegen" and "nahelegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nahelegen vs nahelegt". 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 #180,385 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.