Which to use
“nerven” is a verb and “nervigen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,606
- “nerven” frequency rank
- #30,702
- “nervigen” frequency rank
- 33308
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nerven | nervigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden anhaltend belästigen, jemandem auf die Nerven gehen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs nervig |
Where the eye mixes nerven and nervigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. nerven runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against nervigen's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: nerven vs nervigen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nerven is [ˈnɛʁfn̩] while nervigen is [ˈnɛʁfɪɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33308, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nerven is recorded at frequency rank #2,606, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛʁfn̩]. nervigen is at rank #30,702, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɛʁfɪɡn̩].
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 33308, this pair ranks #1,688,779 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nerven vs nervigen
Shared letters: enrv. Private to "nerven": -. Private to "nervigen": gi.
"nerven" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "nervigen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nerven" and "nervigen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "nerven" or "nervigen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "nerven" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nervigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,688,779 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nerven" and "nervigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nervige vs nervigen". 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
Confusion rank #1,688,779 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.