Which to use
“nagen” and “nähren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,922
- “nagen” frequency rank
- #35,361
- “nähren” frequency rank
- 85283
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nagen | nähren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit den Zähnen kleine Stücke einer harten Substanz abbeißen, trennen | etwas wachsen und mehr oder bedeutender werden lassen |
Where the eye mixes nagen and nähren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. nagen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against nähren's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between nagen and nähren
A purely visual mix-up. nagen ([ˈnaːɡn̩]) and nähren ([ˈnɛːʁən]) 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 85283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nagen is recorded at frequency rank #49,922, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnaːɡn̩]. nähren is at rank #35,361, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛːʁən].
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 85283, this pair ranks #110,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of nagen vs nähren
Shared letters: en. Private to "nagen": ag. Private to "nähren": hrä.
"nagen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "nähren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nagen ← angen · naegn · nagenn · naggen · nagne · ngaen · nnagen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nagen" for "nähren" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "nagen" or "nähren" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "nagen" and "nähren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "nagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nähren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #110,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nagen" and "nähren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagen vs nagy". 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 #110,570 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.