Which to use
“Neugier” is a noun and “neugierig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,143
- “Neugier” frequency rank
- #5,287
- “neugierig” frequency rank
- 15430
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Neugier | neugierig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Streben von Menschen oder Tieren nach Neuem und Unbekanntem | stark interessiert an etwas |
Where the eye mixes Neugier and neugierig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Neugier runs 7 letters (CVVCVVC) against neugierig's 9 (CVVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Neugier with neugierig
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Neugier is [ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːɐ̯] while neugierig is [ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːʁɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Neugier” sits inside “neugierig”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15430, 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]. neugierig is at rank #5,287, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːʁɪç].
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 15430, this pair ranks #1,943,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Neugier vs neugierig
Shared letters: eginru. Private to "Neugier": -. Private to "neugierig": -.
"Neugier" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC · "neugierig" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Neugier" and "neugierig" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Neugier" or "neugierig"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Neugier" and "neugierig" 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 "neugierig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,943,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Neugier" and "neugierig" 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 #1,943,929 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.