nervigvsnervtWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nervig is a adjective, nervt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

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

6 ch
nervig
5 ch
nervt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • nervigenrvig · nerivg · nerrvig · nervgi · nervigg · nervvig · nevrig · nnervig
  • nervtenrvt · nerrvt · nertv · nervtt · nervvt · nevrt · nnervt · nrevt

Frequency comparison

nervig#9,244
nervt#5,401

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nervig" and "nervt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nervig" is an adjective and "nervt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nervig" or "nervt"?
"nervt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,401 in our German list, against #9,244 for "nervig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nervig vs nervt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “nervig”; for a verb, it's “nervt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nervig” 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