nähenvsnährtTell them apart

Which to use

“nähen” and “nährt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,452
“nähen” frequency rank
#34,288
“nährt” frequency rank
47740
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nähen nährt
Definition Textilteile mit einem Faden verbinden 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nähren

Where the eye mixes nähen and nährt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. nähen (CVCVC) and nährt (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
nähen
5 ch
nährt

Visual trap between nähen and nährt

A purely visual mix-up. nähen ([ˈnɛːən]) and nährt ([nɛːɐ̯t]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47740, 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]. 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 47740, this pair ranks #1,273,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nähen vs nährt

Shared letters: hnä. Private to "nähen": e. Private to "nährt": rt.

"nähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "nährt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nähen" and "nährt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɛːən] versus [nɛːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "nähen" vs "nährt" - which ranks higher?
"nähen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,452 in our German list, against #34,288 for "nährt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nähen" 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 #1,273,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nähen" and "nährt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagt vs nährt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,273,772 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list