nahmvsnährtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#936
“nahm” frequency rank
#34,288
“nährt” frequency rank
35224
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nahm nährt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs nehmen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nähren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nahm and nährt apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
nahm
5 ch
nährt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. nahm ([naːm]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nahm is recorded at frequency rank #936, classified as averb, pronounced [naːm]. 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 35224, this pair ranks #1,645,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nahm vs nährt

Shared letters: hn. Private to "nahm": am. Private to "nährt": rtä.

"nahm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "nährt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nahmanhm · nahhm · nahmm · namh · nham · nnahm

Frequency comparison

nahm#936
nährt#34,288

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nahm" and "nährt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([naːm] versus [nɛːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "nahm" or "nährt"?
"nahm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #936 in our German list, against #34,288 for "nährt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering nahm vs nährt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nahm” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list