nächstvsnährtWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: nächst is a adjective, nährt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nächst” is an adjective and “nährt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,782
“nächst” frequency rank
#34,288
“nährt” frequency rank
63070
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nächst nährt
Definition in einer Reihenfolge nach dem aktuellen folgend 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nähren

Where the eye mixes nächst and nährt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
nächst
5 ch
nährt

Visual trap between nächst and nährt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nächst is [nɛːçst] while nährt is [nɛːɐ̯t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63070, 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]. nährt is at rank #34,288, tagged as averb, pronounced [nɛːɐ̯t].

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 63070, this pair ranks #689,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nächst vs nährt

Shared letters: hntä. Private to "nächst": cs. Private to "nährt": r.

"nächst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "nährt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nächst" and "nährt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nächst" is an adjective and "nährt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "nächst" or "nährt" show up more?
"nächst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,782 in our German list, against #34,288 for "nährt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nächst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nährt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #689,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nächst" and "nährt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagt vs nährt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #689,945 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list