Which to use
“neigen” and “nerven” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,766
- “neigen” frequency rank
- #2,606
- “nerven” frequency rank
- 15372
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | neigen | nerven |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Schräglage geraten; schräg werden | jemanden anhaltend belästigen, jemandem auf die Nerven gehen |
Where the eye mixes neigen and nerven
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. neigen (CVVCVC) and nerven (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between neigen and nerven
A purely visual mix-up. neigen ([ˈnaɪ̯ɡn̩]) and nerven ([ˈnɛʁfn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
neigen is recorded at frequency rank #12,766, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnaɪ̯ɡn̩]. nerven is at rank #2,606, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛʁfn̩].
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 15372, this pair ranks #1,944,391 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of neigen vs nerven
Shared letters: en. Private to "neigen": gi. Private to "nerven": rv.
"neigen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "nerven" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "neigen" and "nerven" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "neigen" or "nerven" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "neigen" and "nerven" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "neigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nerven" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,944,391 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "neigen" and "nerven" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagen vs neigen". 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 #1,944,391 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.