Which to use
“näher” is an unknown and “nährt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,564
- “näher” frequency rank
- #34,288
- “nährt” frequency rank
- 35852
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | näher | nährt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Komparativ von nah | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nähren |
Where the eye mixes näher and nährt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. näher (CVCVC) and nährt (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: näher vs nährt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: näher is [ˈnɛːɐ] while nährt is [nɛːɐ̯t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (unknown vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35852, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
näher is recorded at frequency rank #1,564, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈnɛːɐ]. 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 35852, this pair ranks #1,629,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of näher vs nährt
Shared letters: hnrä. Private to "näher": e. Private to "nährt": t.
"näher" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "nährt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "näher" and "nährt" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "näher" vs "nährt" - which ranks higher?
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 "näher" 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 #1,629,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "näher" and "nährt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagt vs nährt". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,629,971 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.