Which to use
“nic” is a pronoun and “nut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,733
- “nic” frequency rank
- #36,531
- “nut” frequency rank
- 70264
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nic | nut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nichts | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nuten |
Where the eye mixes nic and nut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. nic and nut follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between nic and nut
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nic is [ɲit͡s] while nut is [nuːt]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70264, 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]. nut is at rank #36,531, tagged as averb, pronounced [nuːt].
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 70264, this pair ranks #451,576 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of nic vs nut
Shared letters: n. Private to "nic": ci. Private to "nut": tu.
"nic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "nut" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nic" and "nut" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "nic" or "nut" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #451,576 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nic" and "nut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nox vs nut". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #451,576 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.