Which to use
“nächste” is an adjective and “Nächten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #721
- “nächste” frequency rank
- #17,664
- “Nächten” frequency rank
- 18385
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nächste | Nächten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs nah / nahe | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Nacht |
Where the eye mixes nächste and Nächten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. nächste (CVCCCCV) and Nächten (CVCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between nächste and Nächten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nächste is [ˈnɛːçstə] while Nächten is [ˈnɛçtn̩]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nächste is recorded at frequency rank #721, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɛːçstə]. Nächten is at rank #17,664, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɛçtn̩].
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 18385, this pair ranks #1,918,749 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nächste vs Nächten
Shared letters: cehntä. Private to "nächste": s. Private to "Nächten": -.
"nächste" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV · "Nächten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nächste" and "Nächten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "nächste" vs "Nächten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "nächste" and "Nächten" 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 "Nächten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,918,749 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nächste" and "Nächten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nächstem vs Nächten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,918,749 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.