nagen

[ˈnaːɡn̩]

/[ˈnaːɡn̩]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“nagen” has 7 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #49,922. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#49,922
frequency rank, German
1,954
“N” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - mit den Zähnen kleine Stücke einer harten Substanz abbeißen, trennen

Corpus desk

Index DE-nagen · nagen · German

nagen · rank #49,922 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #49,922
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,954
  • PHOTO-FINISH nachweist

Nearest frequency peer: nachweist (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „nagen“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „nagen“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

nagen vs nen
60% similar
nagen vs Name
40% similar
nagen vs nahe
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for nagen
PropertyValue
Headwordnagen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈnaːɡn̩]
Letters5
Frequency rank#49,922
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „nagen“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).nagenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „nachweist“ (#49,921), „nachweisbare“ (#49,920), „natives“ (#49,924). Unter 1,954 „N“-Lemmata liegt „nagen“ bei #49,922. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around nagen (IPA [ˈnaːɡn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #49,922 among 1,954 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for nagen, with forms such as "angen", "naegn", and "nagenn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "nen", "Name", "nahe", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is nagen, spelled N-A-G-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    mit den Zähnen kleine Stücke einer harten Substanz abbeißen, trennen
  2. 2
    jemanden quälen, peinigen, zerfressen
  3. 3
    ein Loch mit Hilfe der Zähne machen
  4. 4
    etwas mit den Zähnen abscheren

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how nagen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Der Biber nagt an einem Baumstamm.
  2. Der Hund nagt am Knochen.

This word in other languages

gnaw(English)roer(Español)ronger(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • angen
  • naegn
  • nagenn
  • naggen
  • nagne
  • ngaen
  • nnagen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nagen - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

angen2naegn2nagenn1naggen1nagne2ngaen2nnagen1
Edit distance from "nagen"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nagen"?
"nagen" is spelled N-A-G-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈnaːɡn̩].
What does "nagen" mean?
As a verb, "nagen" means: mit den Zähnen kleine Stücke einer harten Substanz abbeißen, trennen
What words are commonly confused with "nagen"?
"nagen" is commonly confused with "nen", "Name", "nahe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nagen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nagen" is [ˈnaːɡn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nagen" come from?
"nagen" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nagen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Mokka#49,900Memel#49,887lähmt#49,876prank#49,972

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Paddel7 variantsPullis7 variantsQuint7 variantsKnies7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list