Which to use
“nervig” is an adjective and “nervt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,244
- “nervig” frequency rank
- #5,401
- “nervt” frequency rank
- 14645
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nervig | nervt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sehnig, kräftig, kraftvoll, stark, zäh; „den Eindruck angespannter Kraft vermittelnd“ | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nerven |
Where the eye mixes nervig and nervt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. nervig runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against nervt's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses nervig with nervt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nervig is [ˈnɛʁfɪç] while nervt is [nɛʁft]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14645, 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]. nervt is at rank #5,401, tagged as averb, pronounced [nɛʁft].
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 14645, this pair ranks #1,949,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nervig vs nervt
Shared letters: enrv. Private to "nervig": gi. Private to "nervt": t.
"nervig" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "nervt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nervig" and "nervt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "nervig" vs "nervt" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "nervig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nervt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,949,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nervig" and "nervt" 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 #1,949,776 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.