NachtvsNächteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#384
“Nacht” frequency rank
#6,335
“Nächte” frequency rank
6719
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Nacht Nächte
Definition Zeit der Dunkelheit, zwischen Abenddämmerung und Morgengrauen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nacht

Where the eye mixes Nacht and Nächte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Nacht runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against Nächte's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Nacht
6 ch
Nächte

Why the eye confuses Nacht with Nächte

A purely visual mix-up. Nacht ([naxt]) and Nächte ([ˈnɛçtə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Nacht is recorded at frequency rank #384, classified as anoun, pronounced [naxt]. Nächte is at rank #6,335, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɛçtə].

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 6719, this pair ranks #1,990,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Nacht vs Nächte

Shared letters: chnt. Private to "Nacht": a. Private to "Nächte": eä.

"Nacht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Nächte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Nacht ← ancht · naccht · nachht · nachtt · nacth · nahct · ncaht · nnacht

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Nacht" and "Nächte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([naxt] versus [ˈnɛçtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Nacht" or "Nächte"?
"Nacht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #384 in our German list, against #6,335 for "Nächte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Nacht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Nächte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,990,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Nacht" and "Nächte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nächstem vs Nächte". 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 #1,990,667 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