Which to use
“near” is an adjective and “neck” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,730
- “near” frequency rank
- #45,472
- “neck” frequency rank
- 79202
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | near | neck |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nahe | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs necken |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set near and neck apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: near is anadjective and neckaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
near is recorded at frequency rank #33,730, classified as anadj, pronounced […]. neck is at rank #45,472, tagged as averb, pronounced [nɛk].
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 79202, this pair ranks #221,622 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of near vs neck
Shared letters: en. Private to "near": ar. Private to "neck": ck.
"near" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "neck" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "near" and "neck" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "near" or "neck"?
Remembering near vs neck
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “near”; for a verb, it's “neck”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “near” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable