NasenvsNüssenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#15,167
“Nasen” frequency rank
#37,707
“Nüssen” frequency rank
52874
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Nasen Nüssen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nase Dativ Plural des Substantivs Nuss

Where the eye mixes Nasen and Nüssen

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

5 ch
Nasen
6 ch
Nüssen

Look-alike desk: Nasen vs Nüssen

A purely visual mix-up. Nasen ([ˈnaːzn̩]) and Nüssen ([ˈnʏsn̩]) 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 52874, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Nasen is recorded at frequency rank #15,167, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaːzn̩]. Nüssen is at rank #37,707, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnʏsn̩].

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 52874, this pair ranks #1,079,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Nasen vs Nüssen

Shared letters: ens. Private to "Nasen": a. Private to "Nüssen": ü.

"Nasen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Nüssen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Nasen ← ansen · naesn · nasenn · nasne · nnasen · nsaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Nasen" and "Nüssen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnaːzn̩] versus [ˈnʏsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Nasen" vs "Nüssen" - which ranks higher?
"Nasen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,167 in our German list, against #37,707 for "Nüssen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Nasen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Nüssen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,079,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Nasen" and "Nüssen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nasses vs Nüssen". 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 #1,079,921 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