novvsnutWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nov is a adjective, nut is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nov” is an adjective and “nut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,490
“nov” frequency rank
#36,531
“nut” frequency rank
48021
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nov nut
Definition noch nicht lange existierend oder vorhanden; neu 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nuten

Where the eye mixes nov and nut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
nov
3 ch
nut

Look-alike desk: nov vs nut

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nov is [ˈnɔv] 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nov is recorded at frequency rank #11,490, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɔv]. 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 48021, this pair ranks #1,263,697 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nov vs nut

Shared letters: n. Private to "nov": ov. Private to "nut": tu.

"nov" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "nut" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "nov" for "nut" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nov" is an adjective and "nut" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "nov" or "nut" show up more?
"nov" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,490 in our German list, against #36,531 for "nut". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nov" 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 #1,263,697 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nov" and "nut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nox vs nut". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,263,697 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list