Which to use
“neck” and “nick” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,472
- “neck” frequency rank
- #5,745
- “nick” frequency rank
- 51217
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | neck | nick |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs necken | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nicken |
Where the eye mixes neck and nick
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between neck and nick
A purely visual mix-up. neck ([nɛk]) and nick ([nɪk]) 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 a single letter - e in “neck” becomes i in “nick”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51217, 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]. nick is at rank #5,745, tagged as averb, pronounced [nɪk].
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 51217, this pair ranks #1,144,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of neck vs nick
Shared letters: ckn. Private to "neck": e. Private to "nick": i.
"neck" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "nick" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "neck" for "nick" ever safe?
Which is more common, "neck" or "nick"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "neck" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nick" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,144,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "neck" and "nick" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "neck vs nei". 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 #1,144,008 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.