nächstemvsnächstesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#44,828
“nächstem” frequency rank
#2,033
“nächstes” frequency rank
46861
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nächstem nächstes
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs nächst Nominativ Singular Neutrum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs nah / nahe

Where the eye mixes nächstem and nächstes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. nächstem and nächstes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
nächstem
8 ch
nächstes

Look-alike desk: nächstem vs nächstes

A purely visual mix-up. nächstem ([ˈnɛːçstəm]) and nächstes ([ˈnɛːçstəs]) 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 a single letter - m in “nächstem” becomes s in “nächstes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nächstem is recorded at frequency rank #44,828, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɛːçstəm]. nächstes is at rank #2,033, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɛːçstəs].

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 46861, this pair ranks #1,304,417 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nächstem vs nächstes

Shared letters: cehnstä. Private to "nächstem": m. Private to "nächstes": -.

"nächstem" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC  ·  "nächstes" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "nächstem" and "nächstes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɛːçstəm] versus [ˈnɛːçstəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "nächstem" or "nächstes"?
"nächstes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,033 in our German list, against #44,828 for "nächstem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "nächstem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nächstes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,304,417 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nächstem" and "nächstes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nächst vs nächstem". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,304,417 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