Which to use
“nahe” is an adjective and “nährt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,064
- “nahe” frequency rank
- #34,288
- “nährt” frequency rank
- 35352
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nahe | nährt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | räumlich nahe, wenig entfernt | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nähren |
Where the eye mixes nahe and nährt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. nahe runs 4 letters (CVCV) against nährt's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses nahe with nährt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nahe is [ˈnaːə] while nährt is [nɛːɐ̯t]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nahe is recorded at frequency rank #1,064, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnaːə]. nährt is at rank #34,288, tagged as averb, pronounced [nɛːɐ̯t].
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 35352, this pair ranks #1,642,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nahe vs nährt
Shared letters: hn. Private to "nahe": ae. Private to "nährt": rtä.
"nahe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "nährt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nahe ← anhe · naeh · nahhe · nhae · nnahe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nahe" for "nährt" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "nahe" or "nährt" show up more?
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 "nahe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nährt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,642,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nahe" and "nährt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagt vs nährt". 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 #1,642,043 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.