Which to use
“nothing” is a pronoun and “nötig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,017
- “nothing” frequency rank
- #1,364
- “nötig” frequency rank
- 21381
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nothing | nötig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Abwesenheit von allem seiend; nichts | dringend erforderlich, nicht entbehrlich |
Where the eye mixes nothing and nötig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. nothing runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against nötig's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between nothing and nötig
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nothing is [ˈnʌθɪŋ] while nötig is [ˈnøːtɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21381, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nothing is recorded at frequency rank #20,017, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈnʌθɪŋ]. nötig is at rank #1,364, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnøːtɪç].
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 21381, this pair ranks #1,886,948 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nothing vs nötig
Shared letters: gint. Private to "nothing": ho. Private to "nötig": ö.
"nothing" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "nötig" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nothing ← nnothing · nohting · nothhing · nothign · nothingg · nothinng · nothnig · notihng
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nothing" for "nötig" ever safe?
Which is more common, "nothing" or "nötig"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "nothing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nötig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,886,948 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nothing" and "nötig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nötig vs nötiger". 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 #1,886,948 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.