nanntevsnenneWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,270
“nannte” frequency rank
#5,400
“nenne” frequency rank
8670
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nannte nenne
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs nennen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nennen

Where the eye mixes nannte and nenne

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. nannte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against nenne's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
nannte
5 ch
nenne

Why the eye confuses nannte with nenne

A purely visual mix-up. nannte ([ˈnantə]) and nenne ([ˈnɛnə]) 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 8670, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nannte is recorded at frequency rank #3,270, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnantə]. nenne is at rank #5,400, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛnə].

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 8670, this pair ranks #1,983,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nannte vs nenne

Shared letters: en. Private to "nannte": at. Private to "nenne": -.

"nannte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "nenne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nannteannnte · nannet · nanntte · nante · nantne · nnannte · nnante
  • nenneennne · nene · nnene · nnenne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "nannte" and "nenne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnantə] versus [ˈnɛnə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "nannte" vs "nenne" - which ranks higher?
"nannte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,270 in our German list, against #5,400 for "nenne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nannte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nenne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,983,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nannte" and "nenne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nenne vs Neuner". 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 #1,983,349 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