nicvsnoxWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nic is a pronoun, nox is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nic” is a pronoun and “nox” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,733
“nic” frequency rank
#46,886
“nox” frequency rank
80619
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nic nox
Definition nichts die Nacht

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nic and nox apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
nic
3 ch
nox

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nic is [ɲit͡s] while nox is [nɔks]. 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 (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80619, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nic is recorded at frequency rank #33,733, classified as apron, pronounced [ɲit͡s]. nox is at rank #46,886, tagged as anoun, pronounced [nɔks].

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 80619, this pair ranks #192,006 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of nic vs nox

Shared letters: n. Private to "nic": ci. Private to "nox": ox.

"nic" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "nox" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

nic#33,733
nox#46,886

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nic" and "nox" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nic" is a pronoun and "nox" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nic" or "nox"?
"nic" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,733 in our German list, against #46,886 for "nox". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nic vs nox

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “nic”; for a noun, it's “nox”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nic” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list