nullvsnurWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: null is a adjective, nur is a particle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“null” is an adjective and “nur” is a particle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,314
“null” frequency rank
#40
“nur” frequency rank
2354
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature null nur
Definition überhaupt kein, überhaupt keine generell: unterstreicht die Betonung oder Einschränkung der Satzteilaussage

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set null and nur apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
null
3 ch
nur

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

null and nur form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2354, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

null is recorded at frequency rank #2,314, classified as anadj, pronounced [nʊl]. nur is at rank #40, tagged as aparticle, pronounced [nuːɐ̯].

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 2354, this pair ranks #2,002,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

null#2,314
nur#40

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "null" and "nur" be used interchangeably?
No, "null" and "nur" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering null vs nur

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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