netvsnurWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,836
“net” frequency rank
#40
“nur” frequency rank
3876
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature net nur
Definition nicht generell: unterstreicht die Betonung oder Einschränkung der Satzteilaussage

Where the eye mixes net and nur

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
net
3 ch
nur

Why the eye confuses net with nur

A purely visual mix-up. net ([neːt]) and nur ([nuːɐ̯]) 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 3876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

net is recorded at frequency rank #3,836, classified as aparticle, pronounced [neːt]. nur is at rank #40, tagged as aparticle, pronounced [nuːɐ̯].

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 3876, this pair ranks #1,999,153 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of net vs nur

Shared letters: n. Private to "net": et. Private to "nur": ru.

"net" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "nur" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "net" and "nur" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([neːt] versus [nuːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "net" vs "nur" - which ranks higher?
"nur" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40 in our German list, against #3,836 for "net". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "net" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,999,153 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "net" and "nur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "net vs nox". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,999,153 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list