NegervsneigenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#12,351
“Neger” frequency rank
#12,766
“neigen” frequency rank
25117
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Neger neigen
Definition ein dunkelhäutiger Mensch subsaharischer Abstammung in Schräglage geraten; schräg werden

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
Neger
6 ch
neigen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Neger is [ˈneːɡɐ] while neigen is [ˈnaɪ̯ɡn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25117, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Neger is recorded at frequency rank #12,351, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈneːɡɐ]. neigen is at rank #12,766, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnaɪ̯ɡn̩].

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 25117, this pair ranks #1,837,910 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Neger vs neigen

Shared letters: egn. Private to "Neger": r. Private to "neigen": i.

"Neger" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "neigen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Negerneegr · negerr · negger · negre · ngeer · nneger
  • neigenenigen · negien · neiegn · neigenn · neiggen · neigne · niegen · nneigen

Frequency comparison

Neger#12,351
neigen#12,766

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Neger" and "neigen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Neger" is a noun and "neigen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Neger" or "neigen"?
"Neger" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,351 in our German list, against #12,766 for "neigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Neger vs neigen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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