nehmenvsnennenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“nehmen” and “nennen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#323
“nehmen” frequency rank
#1,065
“nennen” frequency rank
1388
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nehmen nennen
Definition eine Sache greifen jemandem oder etwas einen Namen geben

Where the eye mixes nehmen and nennen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
nehmen
6 ch
nennen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. nehmen ([ˈneːmən]) and nennen ([ˈnɛnən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nehmen is recorded at frequency rank #323, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈneːmən]. 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 1388, this pair ranks #2,004,438 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nehmen vs nennen

Shared letters: en. Private to "nehmen": hm. Private to "nennen": -.

"nehmen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "nennen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nehmenenhmen · nehemn · nehhmen · nehmenn · nehmmen · nehmne · nemhen · nhemen
  • nennenennnen · nenen · nenenn · nennenn · nennne · nnenen · nnennen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nehmen" and "nennen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈneːmən] versus [ˈnɛnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "nehmen" or "nennen"?
"nehmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #323 in our German list, against #1,065 for "nennen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list