Which to use
“nervig” and “nervös” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,244
- “nervig” frequency rank
- #6,333
- “nervös” frequency rank
- 15577
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nervig | nervös |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sehnig, kräftig, kraftvoll, stark, zäh; „den Eindruck angespannter Kraft vermittelnd“ | so, dass man schnell aufgeregt und reizbar ist |
Where the eye mixes nervig and nervös
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. nervig and nervös follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: nervig vs nervös
A purely visual mix-up. nervig ([ˈnɛʁfɪç]) and nervös ([nɛʁˈvøːs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nervig is recorded at frequency rank #9,244, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɛʁfɪç]. nervös is at rank #6,333, tagged as anadj, pronounced [nɛʁˈvøːs].
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 15577, this pair ranks #1,942,770 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nervig vs nervös
Shared letters: enrv. Private to "nervig": gi. Private to "nervös": sö.
"nervig" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "nervös" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nervig ← enrvig · nerivg · nerrvig · nervgi · nervigg · nervvig · nevrig · nnervig
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nervig" for "nervös" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "nervig" or "nervös" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nervig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nervös" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,942,770 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nervig" and "nervös" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nervig vs Nervus". 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 #1,942,770 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.