Which to use
“nei” is a verb and “nie” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,309
- “nei” frequency rank
- #199
- “nie” frequency rank
- 38508
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nei | nie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | verneinen, negieren, abstreiten | zu keiner Zeit, zu keinem Zeitpunkt |
Letter map: nei vs nie
Shared letters muted; letters that set nei and nie apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Role in the sentence - nei and nie
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: nei is averb and nieanadverb. On the page they differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (ei ↔ ie) - a transposition the eye reads straight past. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38508, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nei is recorded at frequency rank #38,309, classified as averb, pronounced […]. nie is at rank #199, tagged as anadv, pronounced [niː].
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 38508, this pair ranks #1,562,117 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nei vs nie
Shared letters: ein. Private to "nei": -. Private to "nie": -.
"nei" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "nie" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nei" and "nie" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "nei" vs "nie" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've compared "nei" and "nie". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "nei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,562,117 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nei" and "nie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nei vs puzzles". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,562,117 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.