NiggervsnimmerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Nigger is a noun, nimmer is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Nigger” is a noun and “nimmer” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,933
“Nigger” frequency rank
#9,784
“nimmer” frequency rank
45717
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Nigger nimmer
Definition rassistisch beleidigende Fremdbezeichnung für eine (männliche) Person mit (sehr) dunkler Hautfarbe und vor allem afroamerikanischer, ferner auch afrodeutscher beziehungsweise subsaharischer Abstammung oder mit Vorfahren, die von dorther stammen zu keiner Zeit, niemals

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Nigger and nimmer apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Nigger
6 ch
nimmer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Nigger is [ˈnɪɡɐ] while nimmer is [ˈnɪmɐ]. 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 (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Nigger is recorded at frequency rank #35,933, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɪɡɐ]. nimmer is at rank #9,784, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈnɪmɐ].

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 45717, this pair ranks #1,343,569 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Nigger vs nimmer

Shared letters: einr. Private to "Nigger": g. Private to "nimmer": m.

"Nigger" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "nimmer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Niggeringger · ngiger · nigegr · niggerr · niggre · nnigger
  • nimmerinmmer · nimemr · nimer · nimmerr · nimmre · nmimer · nnimmer

Frequency comparison

Nigger#35,933
nimmer#9,784

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Nigger" and "nimmer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Nigger" is a noun and "nimmer" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Nigger" or "nimmer"?
"nimmer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,784 in our German list, against #35,933 for "Nigger". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Nigger vs nimmer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Nigger”; for an adverb, it's “nimmer”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Nigger” 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