NässevsNüssenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,692
“Nässe” frequency rank
#37,707
“Nüssen” frequency rank
63399
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Nässe Nüssen
Definition nasse Beschaffenheit (der Umgebung), starke Feuchtigkeit Dativ Plural des Substantivs Nuss

Where the eye mixes Nässe and Nüssen

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

5 ch
Nässe
6 ch
Nüssen

Why the eye confuses Nässe with Nüssen

A purely visual mix-up. Nässe ([ˈnɛsə]) 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 63399, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Nässe is recorded at frequency rank #25,692, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɛsə]. 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 63399, this pair ranks #678,157 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Nässe vs Nüssen

Shared letters: ens. Private to "Nässe": ä. Private to "Nüssen": ü.

"Nässe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Nüssen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Nässe" and "Nüssen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɛsə] versus [ˈnʏsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Nässe" or "Nüssen" show up more?
"Nässe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,692 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 "Nässe" 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 #678,157 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Nässe" and "Nüssen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nasses vs Nüssen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #678,157 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