Which to use
“nein” is a particle and “neue” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #281
- “nein” frequency rank
- #156
- “neue” frequency rank
- 437
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nein | neue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partikel, die Ablehnung, Verneinung, Negation, Widerspruch bekundet, gewöhnlich auf eine Frage | Nominativ Singular Femininum des Adjektivs neu |
Where the eye mixes nein and neue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nein is [naɪ̯n] while neue is [ˈnɔɪ̯ə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 437, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nein is recorded at frequency rank #281, classified as aparticle, pronounced [naɪ̯n]. neue is at rank #156, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯ə].
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 437, this pair ranks #2,005,858 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nein vs neue
Shared letters: en. Private to "nein": i. Private to "neue": u.
"nein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "neue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV