Which to use
“neben” is a preposition and “Nelken” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #314
- “neben” frequency rank
- #42,703
- “Nelken” frequency rank
- 43017
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | neben | Nelken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | räumlich angrenzend, in unmittelbarer Nähe | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nelke |
Where the eye mixes neben and Nelken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. neben runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Nelken's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: neben vs Nelken
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: neben is [ˈneːbn̩] while Nelken is [ˈnɛlkn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
neben is recorded at frequency rank #314, classified as aprep, pronounced [ˈneːbn̩]. Nelken is at rank #42,703, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɛlkn̩].
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 43017, this pair ranks #1,431,185 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of neben vs Nelken
Shared letters: en. Private to "neben": b. Private to "Nelken": kl.
"neben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Nelken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "neben" and "Nelken" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "neben" or "Nelken" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "neben" and "Nelken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "neben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Nelken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,431,185 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "neben" and "Nelken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Nelken vs Nullen". 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 #1,431,185 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.