nei vs nut, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#38,309
“nei” frequency rank: #36,531
“nut” frequency rank: 74840
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	nei	nut
Definition	verneinen, negieren, abstreiten	2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nuten

Letter map: nei vs nut

Shared letters muted; letters that set nei and nut apart highlighted. Shared run: 1. nei (CVV) and nut (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch

nei

3 ch

nut

Corpus notes: nei and nut

nei and nut are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74840, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nei is recorded at frequency rank #38,309, classified as averb, pronounced […]. nut is at rank #36,531, tagged as averb, pronounced [nuːt].

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 74840, this pair ranks #323,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of nei vs nut

Shared letters: n. Private to "nei": ei. Private to "nut": tu.

"nei" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "nut" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "nei" and "nut" mean the same thing in a sentence?

No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Frequency check: "nei" vs "nut" - which ranks higher?

"nut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,531 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.

After this comparison

You've compared "nei" and "nut". Here's where to go from here.

Full dictionary entry for "nei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "nut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #323,097 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"nei" and "nut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nei vs puzzles". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #323,097 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.