nei vs Neid, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#38,309
“nei” frequency rank: #9,600
“Neid” frequency rank: 47909
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	nei	Neid
Definition	verneinen, negieren, abstreiten	der intensive negative Gefühlszustand von Menschen, wenn sie den Besitz, Erfolg, den körperlichen Vorzug oder das Glück eines anderen beobachten können, das sie nicht haben, aber ihm missgönnen.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nei and Neid apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

nei

4 ch

Neid

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: nei is averb and Neidanoun. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “nei” sits inside “Neid”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47909, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nei is recorded at frequency rank #38,309, classified as averb, pronounced […]. Neid is at rank #9,600, tagged as anoun, pronounced [naɪ̯t].

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 47909, this pair ranks #1,267,650 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nei vs Neid

Shared letters: ein. Private to "nei": -. Private to "Neid": d.

"nei" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "Neid" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

Neid ← enid · nedi · neidd · nied · nneid

Frequency comparison

nei#38,309

Neid#9,600

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nei" and "Neid" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nei" is a verb and "Neid" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "nei" or "Neid"?

"Neid" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,600 in our German list, against #38,309 for "nei". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nei vs Neid

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “nei”; for a noun, it's “Neid”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nei” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable