nähenvsnahezuWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nähen is a verb, nahezu is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nähen” is a verb and “nahezu” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,452
“nähen” frequency rank
#2,212
“nahezu” frequency rank
15664
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nähen nahezu
Definition Textilteile mit einem Faden verbinden nicht ganz, aber fast vollständig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nähen and nahezu apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
nähen
6 ch
nahezu

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nähen is [ˈnɛːən] while nahezu is [ˈnaːəˈt͡suː]. 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 adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15664, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nähen is recorded at frequency rank #13,452, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛːən]. nahezu is at rank #2,212, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈnaːəˈt͡suː].

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 15664, this pair ranks #1,942,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nähen vs nahezu

Shared letters: ehn. Private to "nähen": ä. Private to "nahezu": auz.

"nähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "nahezu" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nahezuanhezu · naehzu · naheuz · nahezzu · nahhezu · nahzeu · nhaezu · nnahezu

Frequency comparison

nähen#13,452
nahezu#2,212

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nähen" and "nahezu" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nähen" is a verb and "nahezu" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nähen" or "nahezu"?
"nahezu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,212 in our German list, against #13,452 for "nähen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nähen vs nahezu

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “nähen”; for an adverb, it's “nahezu”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nähen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list