NeugiervsNeunerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,143
“Neugier” frequency rank
#49,119
“Neuner” frequency rank
59262
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Neugier Neuner
Definition Streben von Menschen oder Tieren nach Neuem und Unbekanntem etwas mit der Nummer 9

Where the eye mixes Neugier and Neuner

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Neugier runs 7 letters (CVVCVVC) against Neuner's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Neugier
6 ch
Neuner

Visual trap between Neugier and Neuner

A purely visual mix-up. Neugier ([ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːɐ̯]) and Neuner ([ˈnɔɪ̯nɐ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59262, 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]. Neuner is at rank #49,119, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯nɐ].

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 59262, this pair ranks #831,142 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Neugier vs Neuner

Shared letters: enru. Private to "Neugier": gi. Private to "Neuner": -.

"Neugier" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC  ·  "Neuner" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Neugier ← enugier · neguier · neugeir · neuggier · neugierr · neugire · neuiger · nneugier
  • Neuner ← enuner · nenuer · neuenr · neunerr · neunner · neunre · nneuner · nuener

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Neugier" for "Neuner" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːɐ̯] versus [ˈnɔɪ̯nɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Neugier" vs "Neuner" - which ranks higher?
"Neugier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,143 in our German list, against #49,119 for "Neuner". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Neugier" and "Neuner" 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 "Neuner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #831,142 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Neugier" and "Neuner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Neuner vs neunter". 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 #831,142 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