8vsachtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“8” and “acht” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#287
“8” frequency rank
#899
“acht” frequency rank
1186
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature 8 acht
Definition eine arabische Ziffer (ein Zahlzeichen), welche die Zahl Acht darstellt die Kardinalzahl zwischen sieben und neun

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set 8 and acht apart are highlighted. They share no common letter run, the confusion here is by sound, not by sight.

1 ch
8
4 ch
acht

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. 8 and acht are pronounced identically ([axt]) and both work as anum. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 3 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1186, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

8 is recorded at frequency rank #287, classified as anum, pronounced [axt]. acht is at rank #899, tagged as anum, pronounced [axt].

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 1186, this pair ranks #2,004,767 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of 8 vs acht

Shared letters: none. Private to "8": -. Private to "acht": acht.

"8" · 0 letters · shape  ·  "acht" · 4 letters · shape VCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • achtaccht · achht · achtt · acth · ahct · caht

Frequency comparison

8#287
acht#899

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "8" and "acht" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same ([axt]), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "8" or "acht"?
"8" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #287 in our German list, against #899 for "acht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering 8 vs acht

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “8” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list