Which to use
“Neid” is a noun and “nein” is a particle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,600
- “Neid” frequency rank
- #281
- “nein” frequency rank
- 9881
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Neid | nein |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | Partikel, die Ablehnung, Verneinung, Negation, Widerspruch bekundet, gewöhnlich auf eine Frage |
Where the eye mixes Neid and nein
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Neid vs nein
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Neid is [naɪ̯t] while nein is [naɪ̯n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “Neid” becomes n in “nein”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs particle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9881, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Neid is recorded at frequency rank #9,600, classified as anoun, pronounced [naɪ̯t]. nein is at rank #281, tagged as aparticle, pronounced [naɪ̯n].
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 9881, this pair ranks #1,977,843 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Neid vs nein
Shared letters: ein. Private to "Neid": d. Private to "nein": -.
"Neid" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "nein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Neid" and "nein" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Neid" vs "nein" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Neid" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nein" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,977,843 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Neid" and "nein" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "neck vs Neid". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,977,843 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.