nähenvsNameWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: nähen is a verb, Name is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#13,452
“nähen” frequency rank
#638
“Name” frequency rank
14090
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nähen Name
Definition Textilteile mit einem Faden verbinden eine eingliedrige oder mehrgliedrige, aus einem oder mehreren Worten bestehende Bezeichnung, eine zugeordnete Information, die der Identifizierung und Individualisierung dient, ein Eigenname für

Where the eye mixes nähen and Name

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

5 ch
nähen
4 ch
Name

Visual trap between nähen and Name

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nähen is [ˈnɛːən] while Name is [ˈnaːmə]. 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 14090, 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]. Name is at rank #638, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaːmə].

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 14090, this pair ranks #1,953,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nähen vs Name

Shared letters: en. Private to "nähen": . Private to "Name": am.

"nähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Name" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Nameanme · naem · namme · nmae · nname

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nähen" and "Name" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nähen" is a verb and "Name" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "nähen" vs "Name" - which ranks higher?
"Name" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #638 in our German list, against #13,452 for "nähen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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 "Name" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,953,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nähen" and "Name" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagen vs nähen". 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 #1,953,623 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