nein
[naɪ̯n]
The verdict
“nein” is in the everyday core of German, ranked #281 in German word frequency and used as a particle.
- #281
- frequency rank, German
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Partikel, die Ablehnung, Verneinung, Negation, Widerspruch bekundet, gewöhnlich auf eine Frage
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nein |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Particle |
| IPA | [naɪ̯n] |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #281 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “nein” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for nein is 4 letters long, classified as a particle, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [naɪ̯n]. Corpus data places it at rank #281 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for nein, with forms such as "enin", "neinn", and "neni". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Ni", "nun", "nie", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is nein, spelled N-E-I-N.
Definition
- 1Partikel, die Ablehnung, Verneinung, Negation, Widerspruch bekundet, gewöhnlich auf eine Frage
- 2quasi anzweifelnd, damit aber bekräftigend
- 3quasi anzweifelnd, damit aber steigernd
- 4zur losen Anreihung an eine Aussage
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: enin,neinn,neni,nien,nnein
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nein - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "nein"?
What does "nein" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "nein"?
How do you pronounce "nein"?
What language does "nein" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “nein”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is N-E-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [naɪ̯n] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Ni” - see the side-by-side comparison. nein vs Ni
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.