neevsnunWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nee is a particle, nun is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nee” is a particle and “nun” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,609
“nee” frequency rank
#130
“nun” frequency rank
3739
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nee nun
Definition nein zu diesem Zeitpunkt, zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt, in dem Moment

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nee and nun apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
nee
3 ch
nun

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

nee and nun form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3739, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nee is recorded at frequency rank #3,609, classified as aparticle, pronounced [neː]. nun is at rank #130, tagged as anadv, pronounced [nuːn].

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 3739, this pair ranks #1,999,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

nee#3,609
nun#130

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nee" and "nun" be used interchangeably?
No, "nee" and "nun" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering nee vs nun

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a particle, it's “nee”; for an adverb, it's “nun”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nee” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list