nächstevsnächsterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#721
“nächste” frequency rank
#4,544
“nächster” frequency rank
5265
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nächste nächster
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs nah / nahe Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs nah / nahe

Where the eye mixes nächste and nächster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. nächste runs 7 letters (CVCCCCV) against nächster's 8 (CVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
nächste
8 ch
nächster

Look-alike desk: nächste vs nächster

A purely visual mix-up. nächste ([ˈnɛːçstə]) and nächster ([ˈnɛːçstɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “nächste” sits inside “nächster”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5265, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nächste is recorded at frequency rank #721, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɛːçstə]. nächster is at rank #4,544, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɛːçstɐ].

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 5265, this pair ranks #1,995,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nächste vs nächster

Shared letters: cehnstä. Private to "nächste": -. Private to "nächster": r.

"nächste" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV  ·  "nächster" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "nächste" and "nächster" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɛːçstə] versus [ˈnɛːçstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "nächste" vs "nächster" - which ranks higher?
"nächste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #721 in our German list, against #4,544 for "nächster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "nächste" and "nächster" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nächste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nächster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,995,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nächste" and "nächster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nächstem vs nächster". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,995,312 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