Which to use
“nähren” and “nehmen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,361
- “nähren” frequency rank
- #323
- “nehmen” frequency rank
- 35684
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nähren | nehmen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas wachsen und mehr oder bedeutender werden lassen | eine Sache greifen |
Where the eye mixes nähren and nehmen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. nähren and nehmen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses nähren with nehmen
A purely visual mix-up. nähren ([ˈnɛːʁən]) and nehmen ([ˈneːmən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35684, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nähren is recorded at frequency rank #35,361, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛːʁən]. nehmen is at rank #323, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈneːmən].
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 35684, this pair ranks #1,634,059 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nähren vs nehmen
Shared letters: ehn. Private to "nähren": rä. Private to "nehmen": m.
"nähren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "nehmen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nehmen ← enhmen · nehemn · nehhmen · nehmenn · nehmmen · nehmne · nemhen · nhemen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nähren" and "nehmen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "nähren" or "nehmen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "nähren" and "nehmen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "nähren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nehmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,634,059 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nähren" and "nehmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagen vs nähren". 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 #1,634,059 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.