nähernvsnähertConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,146
“nähern” frequency rank
#10,533
“nähert” frequency rank
20679
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nähern nähert
Definition sich an etwas heranbewegen, näher herankommen an etwas 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nähern

Where the eye mixes nähern and nähert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. nähern and nähert follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
nähern
6 ch
nähert

Look-alike desk: nähern vs nähert

A purely visual mix-up. nähern ([ˈnɛːɐn]) and nähert ([ˈnɛːɐt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “nähern” becomes t in “nähert”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nähern is recorded at frequency rank #10,146, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛːɐn]. nähert is at rank #10,533, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛːɐt].

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 20679, this pair ranks #1,895,009 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nähern vs nähert

Shared letters: ehnrä. Private to "nähern": -. Private to "nähert": t.

"nähern" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "nähert" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nähern" and "nähert" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɛːɐn] versus [ˈnɛːɐt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "nähern" or "nähert" show up more?
"nähern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,146 in our German list, against #10,533 for "nähert". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "nähern" and "nähert" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nähern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nähert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,895,009 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nähern" and "nähert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagen vs nähern". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,895,009 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