Which to use
“nächst” is an adjective and “nachts” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,782
- “nächst” frequency rank
- #2,165
- “nachts” frequency rank
- 30947
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nächst | nachts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in einer Reihenfolge nach dem aktuellen folgend | Zeitangabe: In der Nacht, während der Nacht |
Where the eye mixes nächst and nachts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. nächst and nachts follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: nächst vs nachts
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nächst is [nɛːçst] while nachts is [naxt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30947, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nächst is recorded at frequency rank #28,782, classified as anadj, pronounced [nɛːçst]. nachts is at rank #2,165, tagged as anadv, pronounced [naxt͡s].
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 30947, this pair ranks #1,737,839 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nächst vs nachts
Shared letters: chnst. Private to "nächst": ä. Private to "nachts": a.
"nächst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC · "nachts" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nachts ← anchts · nacchts · nachhts · nachst · nachtss · nachtts · nacths · nahcts
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nächst" and "nachts" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "nächst" vs "nachts" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nächst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nachts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,737,839 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nächst" and "nachts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nächst vs nächstem". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,737,839 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.