Which to use
“nächst” is an adjective and “nicht” is a particle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,782
- “nächst” frequency rank
- #8
- “nicht” frequency rank
- 28790
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nächst | nicht |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in einer Reihenfolge nach dem aktuellen folgend | Partikel, die die Verneinung, die Negierung beziehungsweise die Negation ausdrückt |
Where the eye mixes nächst and nicht
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. nächst runs 6 letters (CVCCCC) against nicht's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between nächst and nicht
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nächst is [nɛːçst] while nicht is [nɪçt]. 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 particle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28790, 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]. nicht is at rank #8, tagged as aparticle, pronounced [nɪçt].
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 28790, this pair ranks #1,778,543 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nächst vs nicht
Shared letters: chnt. Private to "nächst": sä. Private to "nicht": i.
"nächst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC · "nicht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nicht ← incht · nciht · niccht · nichht · nichtt · nicth · nihct · nnicht
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nächst" for "nicht" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "nächst" or "nicht" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "nächst" and "nicht" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "nächst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nicht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,778,543 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nächst" and "nicht" 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 #1,778,543 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.