Which to use
“nice” is an adjective and “nine” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,988
- “nice” frequency rank
- #28,781
- “nine” frequency rank
- 34769
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nice | nine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von guter Qualität | neun |
Where the eye mixes nice and nine
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses nice with nine
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nice is [naɪ̯s] while nine is [naɪn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “nice” becomes n in “nine”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nice is recorded at frequency rank #5,988, classified as anadj, pronounced [naɪ̯s]. nine is at rank #28,781, tagged as anum, pronounced [naɪn].
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 34769, this pair ranks #1,655,699 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nice vs nine
Shared letters: ein. Private to "nice": c. Private to "nine": -.
"nice" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "nine" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nice" and "nine" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "nice" vs "nine" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "nice" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,655,699 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nice" and "nine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nine vs node". 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 #1,655,699 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.