Which to use
“nagen” is a verb and “Narben” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,922
- “nagen” frequency rank
- #13,209
- “Narben” frequency rank
- 63131
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nagen | Narben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit den Zähnen kleine Stücke einer harten Substanz abbeißen, trennen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Narbe |
Where the eye mixes nagen and Narben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. nagen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Narben's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses nagen with Narben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nagen is [ˈnaːɡn̩] while Narben is [ˈnaʁbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63131, 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]. Narben is at rank #13,209, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaʁbn̩].
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 63131, this pair ranks #687,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nagen vs Narben
Shared letters: aen. Private to "nagen": g. Private to "Narben": br.
"nagen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Narben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nagen" for "Narben" ever safe?
Which is more common, "nagen" or "Narben"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Narben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #687,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nagen" and "Narben" 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 #687,659 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.