neinvsnidWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nein is a particle, nid is a preposition, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nein” is a particle and “nid” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#281
“nein” frequency rank
#32,185
“nid” frequency rank
32466
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nein nid
Definition Partikel, die Ablehnung, Verneinung, Negation, Widerspruch bekundet, gewöhnlich auf eine Frage süddeutsch und unterhalb

Where the eye mixes nein and nid

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
nein
3 ch
nid

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nein is [naɪ̯n] while nid is [niːt]. 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 preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32466, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nein is recorded at frequency rank #281, classified as aparticle, pronounced [naɪ̯n]. nid is at rank #32,185, tagged as aprep, pronounced [niːt].

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 32466, this pair ranks #1,706,977 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nein vs nid

Shared letters: in. Private to "nein": e. Private to "nid": d.

"nein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "nid" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • neinenin · neinn · neni · nien · nnein

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nein" and "nid" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nein" is a particle and "nid" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nein" or "nid"?
"nein" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #281 in our German list, against #32,185 for "nid". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "nein" and "nid". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nein" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nid" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,706,977 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nein" and "nid" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nid vs nox". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list