NeffenvsnennenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#12,765
“Neffen” frequency rank
#1,065
“nennen” frequency rank
13830
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Neffen nennen
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Neffe jemandem oder etwas einen Namen geben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Neffen and nennen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Neffen
6 ch
nennen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Neffen is [ˈnɛfn̩] while nennen is [ˈnɛnən]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Neffen is recorded at frequency rank #12,765, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɛfn̩]. nennen is at rank #1,065, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛnən].

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 13830, this pair ranks #1,955,396 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Neffen vs nennen

Shared letters: en. Private to "Neffen": f. Private to "nennen": -.

"Neffen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "nennen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Neffenenffen · nefefn · nefen · neffenn · neffne · nfefen · nneffen
  • nennenennnen · nenen · nenenn · nennenn · nennne · nnenen · nnennen

Frequency comparison

Neffen#12,765
nennen#1,065

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Neffen" and "nennen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Neffen" is a noun and "nennen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Neffen" or "nennen"?
"nennen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,065 in our German list, against #12,765 for "Neffen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Neffen vs nennen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Neffen”; for a verb, it's “nennen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Neffen” 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