nie

[niː]

/[niː]/ adv

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

The verdict

“nie” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #199) as an adverb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#199
frequency rank, German
1,954
“N” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - zu keiner Zeit, zu keinem Zeitpunkt

Corpus desk

Index DE-nie · nie · German

nie · rank #199 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #199
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,954
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ende

Nearest frequency peer: Ende (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “nie”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “nie” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

nie vs NS
0% similar
nie vs nm
33% similar
nie vs NL
0% similar

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

Key facts for nie
PropertyValue
Headwordnie
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdverb
IPA[niː]
Letters3
Frequency rank#199
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “nie” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). nie lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for nie is neighbouring look-alikes ("NS", "nm", …), not just typos; it is anadverb pronounced [niː]. Frequency #199 among 1,954 “N” headwords. Gloss: "zu keiner Zeit, zu keinem Zeitpunkt".

nie doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "NS", "nm", "NL", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is nie, spelled N-I-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    zu keiner Zeit, zu keinem Zeitpunkt

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ich werde nie mit dir ins Kino gehen.
  2. „Zwei Schimpansen, die einander nie gesehen, nie mit einander gekämpft und einander nie die Läuse aus dem Pelz gesucht haben, wissen nicht, ob sie einander über den Weg trauen können, ob es sich lohnt, dem anderen zu helfen, oder welcher der beiden in der Rangordnung über dem anderen steht.“

Synonyms

niemalsnimmernie und nimmer

Antonyms

immer

This word in other languages

never(English)nunca(Español)nunca(Português)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nie"?
"nie" is spelled N-I-E. The IPA pronunciation is [niː].
What does "nie" mean?
As an adverb, "nie" means: zu keiner Zeit, zu keinem Zeitpunkt
What words are commonly confused with "nie"?
"nie" is commonly confused with "NS", "nm", "NL". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nie"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nie" is [niː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nie" come from?
"nie" 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 "nie", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Uhr#200Weg#201ins#192Tag#189

What to do next

You've looked up "nie". Here's where to go from here.

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list