nerve

/[ˈnɛʁfə]/ verb

Letters

5 characters

Frequency Rank

#48,351

in German word usage

Misspellings

6

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

nerve is aGermanverb. It means: 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nerven Pronounced [ˈnɛʁfə]. Often confused with neue and Nette.

Key facts for nerve
PropertyValue
Headwordnerve
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈnɛʁfə]
Letters5
Frequency rank#48,351
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of nerve in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for nerve is 5 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈnɛʁfə]. Corpus data places it at rank #48,351 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 6 documented wrong-spelling variants for nerve, with forms such as "enrve", "nerev", and "nerrve". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "neue", "Nette", "nervt", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is nerve, spelled N-E-R-V-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nerven
  2. 2
    1. Person Singular Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nerven
  3. 3
    3. Person Singular Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nerven
  4. 4
    2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nerven

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: enrve,nerev,nerrve,nervve,nnerve,nreve

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for nerve

Misspelling Variants of "nerve"

enrve5nerev5nerrve6nervve6nnerve6nreve5
Misspelling Variants of "nerve"

Frequency rank: #48,351 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nerve"?
"nerve" is spelled N-E-R-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈnɛʁfə].
What does "nerve" mean?
As a verb, "nerve" means: 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nerven
What words are commonly confused with "nerve"?
"nerve" is commonly confused with "neue", "Nette", "nervt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nerve"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nerve" is [ˈnɛʁfə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nerve" come from?
"nerve" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter N in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.