Which to use
“Nagel” is a noun and “nähen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,510
- “Nagel” frequency rank
- #13,452
- “nähen” frequency rank
- 20962
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Nagel | nähen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Horngebilde, bestehend aus mehreren übereinander geschichteten Keratinplatten an Fingern und Fußzehen | Textilteile mit einem Faden verbinden |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Nagel and nähen apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Nagel and nähen form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Nagel is recorded at frequency rank #7,510, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaːɡl̩]. nähen is at rank #13,452, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛːən].
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 20962, this pair ranks #1,891,765 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Nagel" and "nähen" be used interchangeably?
Remembering Nagel vs nähen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Nagel”; for a verb, it's “nähen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Nagel” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable