nunvsnutConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#130
“nun” frequency rank
#36,531
“nut” frequency rank
36661
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nun nut
Definition zu diesem Zeitpunkt, zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt, in dem Moment 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nuten

Where the eye mixes nun and nut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
nun
3 ch
nut

Visual trap between nun and nut

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nun is [nuːn] while nut is [nuːt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “nun” becomes t in “nut”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nun is recorded at frequency rank #130, classified as anadv, pronounced [nuːn]. 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 36661, this pair ranks #1,609,886 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nun vs nut

Shared letters: nu. Private to "nun": -. Private to "nut": t.

"nun" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "nut" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "nun" and "nut" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nun" is an adverb and "nut" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "nun" or "nut" show up more?
"nun" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #130 in our German list, against #36,531 for "nut". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "nun" 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 #1,609,886 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nun" and "nut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nox vs nut". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,609,886 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