nennevsNonnenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nenne is a verb, Nonnen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nenne” is a verb and “Nonnen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,400
“nenne” frequency rank
#18,000
“Nonnen” frequency rank
23400
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nenne Nonnen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nennen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nonne

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nenne and Nonnen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
nenne
6 ch
Nonnen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nenne is [ˈnɛnə] while Nonnen is [ˈnɔnən]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23400, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nenne is recorded at frequency rank #5,400, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛnə]. Nonnen is at rank #18,000, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɔnən].

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 23400, this pair ranks #1,861,793 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nenne vs Nonnen

Shared letters: en. Private to "nenne": -. Private to "Nonnen": o.

"nenne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Nonnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nenneennne · nene · nnene · nnenne
  • Nonnennnonen · nnonnen · nonenn · nonnenn · nonnne · onnnen

Frequency comparison

nenne#5,400
Nonnen#18,000

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nenne" and "Nonnen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nenne" is a verb and "Nonnen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nenne" or "Nonnen"?
"nenne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,400 in our German list, against #18,000 for "Nonnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nenne vs Nonnen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “nenne”; for a noun, it's “Nonnen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nenne” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list