NachtvsNähteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#384
“Nacht” frequency rank
#27,876
“Nähte” frequency rank
28260
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes Nacht and Nähte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Nacht (CVCCC) and Nähte (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Nacht
5 ch
Nähte

Visual trap between Nacht and Nähte

A purely visual mix-up. Nacht ([naxt]) and Nähte ([ˈnɛːtə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Nacht is recorded at frequency rank #384, classified as anoun, pronounced [naxt]. Nähte is at rank #27,876, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɛːtə].

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 28260, this pair ranks #1,787,887 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Nacht vs Nähte

Shared letters: hnt. Private to "Nacht": ac. Private to "Nähte": eä.

"Nacht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Nähte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Nacht" and "Nähte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([naxt] versus [ˈnɛːtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Nacht" vs "Nähte" - which ranks higher?
"Nacht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #384 in our German list, against #27,876 for "Nähte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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 "Nähte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,787,887 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Nacht" and "Nähte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagt vs Nähte". 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 #1,787,887 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