neigevsneigtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#23,249
“neige” frequency rank
#12,548
“neigt” frequency rank
35797
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature neige neigt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs neigen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs neigen

Where the eye mixes neige and neigt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. neige (CVVCV) and neigt (CVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
neige
5 ch
neigt

Look-alike desk: neige vs neigt

A purely visual mix-up. neige ([ˈnaɪ̯ɡə]) and neigt ([naɪ̯kt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - e in “neige” becomes t in “neigt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

neige is recorded at frequency rank #23,249, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnaɪ̯ɡə]. neigt is at rank #12,548, tagged as averb, pronounced [naɪ̯kt].

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 35797, this pair ranks #1,631,298 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of neige vs neigt

Shared letters: egin. Private to "neige": -. Private to "neigt": t.

"neige" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "neigt" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • neigeenige · negie · neieg · neigge · niege · nneige
  • neigtenigt · negit · neiggt · neigtt · neitg · niegt · nneigt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "neige" and "neigt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnaɪ̯ɡə] versus [naɪ̯kt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "neige" vs "neigt" - which ranks higher?
"neigt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,548 in our German list, against #23,249 for "neige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "neige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "neigt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,631,298 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "neige" and "neigt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "neige vs nerve". 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 #1,631,298 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list