Which to use
“nie” is an adverb and “nut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #199
- “nie” frequency rank
- #36,531
- “nut” frequency rank
- 36730
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nie | nut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu keiner Zeit, zu keinem Zeitpunkt | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nuten |
Where the eye mixes nie and nut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between nie and nut
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nie is [niː] 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36730, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nie is recorded at frequency rank #199, classified as anadv, pronounced [niː]. 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 36730, this pair ranks #1,608,140 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nie vs nut
Shared letters: n. Private to "nie": ei. Private to "nut": tu.
"nie" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "nut" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nie" and "nut" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "nie" or "nut" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "nie" and "nut" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "nie" 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 #1,608,140 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nie" and "nut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nox vs nut". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,608,140 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.