Which to use
“nine” is a num and “Ninja” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,781
- “nine” frequency rank
- #17,082
- “Ninja” frequency rank
- 45863
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nine | Ninja |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | neun | Einzelkämpfer mit einem speziellen Kampfstil und besonderen Waffen in der japanischen Feudalzeit, der einer Geheimorganisation angehörte und als Spion, Saboteur oder Meuchelmörder eingesetzt wurde |
Where the eye mixes nine and Ninja
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. nine runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Ninja's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: nine vs Ninja
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nine is [naɪn] while Ninja is [ˈnɪnd͡ʒa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nine is recorded at frequency rank #28,781, classified as anum, pronounced [naɪn]. Ninja is at rank #17,082, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɪnd͡ʒa].
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 45863, this pair ranks #1,338,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nine vs Ninja
Shared letters: in. Private to "nine": e. Private to "Ninja": aj.
"nine" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Ninja" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nine" for "Ninja" ever safe?
Frequency check: "nine" vs "Ninja" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ninja" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,338,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nine" and "Ninja" 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 #1,338,615 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.