nähervsNameWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,564
“näher” frequency rank
#638
“Name” frequency rank
2202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature näher Name
Definition Komparativ von nah 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 näher and Name

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

5 ch
näher
4 ch
Name

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: näher is [ˈnɛːɐ] 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 (unknown vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2202, 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]. 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 2202, this pair ranks #2,002,878 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of näher vs Name

Shared letters: en. Private to "näher": hrä. Private to "Name": am.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Nameanme · naem · namme · nmae · nname

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "näher" and "Name" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "näher" is an unknown and "Name" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "näher" or "Name"?
"Name" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #638 in our German list, against #1,564 for "näher". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list