nervevsnervstWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“nerve” and “nervst” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#48,351
“nerve” frequency rank
#47,613
“nervst” frequency rank
95964
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nerve nervst
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nerven 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nerven

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
nerve
6 ch
nervst

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. nerve ([ˈnɛʁfə]) and nervst ([nɛʁfst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 95964, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nerve is recorded at frequency rank #48,351, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛʁfə]. nervst is at rank #47,613, tagged as averb, pronounced [nɛʁfst].

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 95964, this pair ranks #9,299 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of nerve vs nervst

Shared letters: enrv. Private to "nerve": -. Private to "nervst": st.

"nerve" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "nervst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nerveenrve · nerev · nerrve · nervve · nnerve · nreve
  • nervstenrvst · nerrvst · nersvt · nervsst · nervstt · nervts · nervvst · nevrst

Frequency comparison

nerve#48,351
nervst#47,613

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nerve" and "nervst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɛʁfə] versus [nɛʁfst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "nerve" or "nervst"?
"nervst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #47,613 in our German list, against #48,351 for "nerve". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nerve vs nervst

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nerve” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list