neckvsNeidWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: neck is a verb, Neid is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“neck” is a verb and “Neid” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,472
“neck” frequency rank
#9,600
“Neid” frequency rank
55072
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature neck Neid
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs necken der intensive negative Gefühlszustand von Menschen, wenn sie den Besitz, Erfolg, den körperlichen Vorzug oder das Glück eines anderen beobachten können, das sie nicht haben, aber ihm missgönnen.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set neck and Neid apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
neck
4 ch
Neid

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: neck is [nɛk] while Neid is [naɪ̯t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55072, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

neck is recorded at frequency rank #45,472, classified as averb, pronounced [nɛk]. Neid is at rank #9,600, tagged as anoun, pronounced [naɪ̯t].

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 55072, this pair ranks #993,802 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of neck vs Neid

Shared letters: en. Private to "neck": ck. Private to "Neid": di.

"neck" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Neid" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • neckenck · ncek · necck · neckk · nekc · nneck
  • Neidenid · nedi · neidd · nied · nneid

Frequency comparison

neck#45,472
Neid#9,600

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "neck" and "Neid" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "neck" is a verb and "Neid" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "neck" or "Neid"?
"Neid" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,600 in our German list, against #45,472 for "neck". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering neck vs Neid

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “neck”; for a noun, it's “Neid”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “neck” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list