neivsneunWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nei is a verb, neun is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#38,309
“nei” frequency rank
#1,639
“neun” frequency rank
39948
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nei neun
Definition verneinen, negieren, abstreiten die Kardinalzahl zwischen acht und zehn

Letter map: nei vs neun

Shared letters muted; letters that set nei and neun apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

3 ch
nei
4 ch
neun

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: nei is averb and neunanum. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39948, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nei is recorded at frequency rank #38,309, classified as averb, pronounced […]. neun is at rank #1,639, tagged as anum, pronounced [nɔɪ̯n].

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 39948, this pair ranks #1,522,343 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nei vs neun

Shared letters: en. Private to "nei": i. Private to "neun": u.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • neunenun · nenu · neunn · nneun · nuen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nei" and "neun" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nei" is a verb and "neun" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nei" or "neun"?
"neun" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,639 in our German list, against #38,309 for "nei". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list