NGOsvsNussWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,250
“NGOs” frequency rank
#13,905
“Nuss” frequency rank
37155
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature NGOs Nuss
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs NGO essbarer, ölhaltiger Same mit harter Schale

Where the eye mixes NGOs and Nuss

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. NGOs (CCVC) and Nuss (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
NGOs
4 ch
Nuss

Why the eye confuses NGOs with Nuss

A purely visual mix-up. NGOs ([ˌɛnd͡ʒiˈʔoʊs]) and Nuss ([nʊs]) 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 37155, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

NGOs is recorded at frequency rank #23,250, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˌɛnd͡ʒiˈʔoʊs]. Nuss is at rank #13,905, tagged as anoun, pronounced [nʊs].

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 37155, this pair ranks #1,597,429 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of NGOs vs Nuss

Shared letters: ns. Private to "NGOs": go. Private to "Nuss": u.

"NGOs" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Nuss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • NGOs ← gnos · nggos · ngoss · ngso · nngos · nogs
  • Nuss ← nnuss · nsus · nus · nuß · unss

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "NGOs" and "Nuss" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˌɛnd͡ʒiˈʔoʊs] versus [nʊs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "NGOs" or "Nuss"?
"Nuss" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,905 in our German list, against #23,250 for "NGOs". 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 "NGOs" and "Nuss" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "NGOs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Nuss" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,597,429 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "NGOs" and "Nuss" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "NGOs vs nox". 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 #1,597,429 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