Which to use
“nein” is a particle and “nic” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #281
- “nein” frequency rank
- #33,733
- “nic” frequency rank
- 34014
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nein | nic |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partikel, die Ablehnung, Verneinung, Negation, Widerspruch bekundet, gewöhnlich auf eine Frage | nichts |
Where the eye mixes nein and nic
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 nic is [ɲit͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nein is recorded at frequency rank #281, classified as aparticle, pronounced [naɪ̯n]. nic is at rank #33,733, tagged as apron, pronounced [ɲit͡s].
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 34014, this pair ranks #1,672,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nein vs nic
Shared letters: in. Private to "nein": e. Private to "nic": c.
"nein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "nic" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nein ← enin · neinn · neni · nien · nnein