Which to use
“nächste” is an adjective and “nachts” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #721
- “nächste” frequency rank
- #2,165
- “nachts” frequency rank
- 2886
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nächste | nachts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs nah / nahe | Zeitangabe: In der Nacht, während der Nacht |
Where the eye mixes nächste and nachts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. nächste runs 7 letters (CVCCCCV) against nachts's 6 (CVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses nächste with nachts
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nächste is [ˈnɛːçstə] while nachts is [naxt͡s]. 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 adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2886, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nächste is recorded at frequency rank #721, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɛːçstə]. 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 2886, this pair ranks #2,001,378 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nächste vs nachts
Shared letters: chnst. Private to "nächste": eä. Private to "nachts": a.
"nächste" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV · "nachts" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nachts ← anchts · nacchts · nachhts · nachst · nachtss · nachtts · nacths · nahcts
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nächste" for "nachts" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "nächste" or "nachts" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "nächste" and "nachts" 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 "nachts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,001,378 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nächste" and "nachts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nächste 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 #2,001,378 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.