NeugiervsNeugierdeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,143
“Neugier” frequency rank
#19,656
“Neugierde” frequency rank
29799
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Neugier Neugierde
Definition Streben von Menschen oder Tieren nach Neuem und Unbekanntem der Wunsch oder Drang, von Dingen zu erfahren, die einem noch unbekannt sind

Where the eye mixes Neugier and Neugierde

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Neugier runs 7 letters (CVVCVVC) against Neugierde's 9 (CVVCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Neugier
9 ch
Neugierde

Look-alike desk: Neugier vs Neugierde

A purely visual mix-up. Neugier ([ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːɐ̯]) and Neugierde ([ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːɐ̯də]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Neugier” sits inside “Neugierde”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29799, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Neugier is recorded at frequency rank #10,143, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːɐ̯]. Neugierde is at rank #19,656, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːɐ̯də].

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 29799, this pair ranks #1,760,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Neugier vs Neugierde

Shared letters: eginru. Private to "Neugier": -. Private to "Neugierde": d.

"Neugier" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC  ·  "Neugierde" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Neugier ← enugier · neguier · neugeir · neuggier · neugierr · neugire · neuiger · nneugier
  • Neugierde ← enugierde · neguierde · neugeirde · neuggierde · neugiedre · neugierdde · neugiered · neugierrde

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Neugier" and "Neugierde" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːɐ̯] versus [ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːɐ̯də]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Neugier" or "Neugierde" show up more?
"Neugier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,143 in our German list, against #19,656 for "Neugierde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Neugier" and "Neugierde" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Neugier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Neugierde" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,760,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Neugier" and "Neugierde" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Neugier vs Neuner". 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 #1,760,086 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