Which to use
“neue” is an adjective and “nine” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #156
- “neue” frequency rank
- #28,781
- “nine” frequency rank
- 28937
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | neue | nine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum des Adjektivs neu | neun |
Where the eye mixes neue and nine
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses neue with nine
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: neue is [ˈnɔɪ̯ə] while nine is [naɪn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
neue is recorded at frequency rank #156, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯ə]. nine is at rank #28,781, tagged as anum, pronounced [naɪn].
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 28937, this pair ranks #1,775,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of neue vs nine
Shared letters: en. Private to "neue": u. Private to "nine": i.
"neue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "nine" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "neue" for "nine" ever safe?
Frequency check: "neue" vs "nine" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "neue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,775,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "neue" and "nine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nine vs node". 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 #1,775,906 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.