NächtevsNachteilTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,335
“Nächte” frequency rank
#6,092
“Nachteil” frequency rank
12427
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Nächte Nachteil
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nacht negative oder unerwünschte Folge oder negativer Nebeneffekt, zum Beispiel einer Lösung, eines Vorgehens, einer Überlegung

Where the eye mixes Nächte and Nachteil

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Nächte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against Nachteil's 8 (CVCCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Nächte
8 ch
Nachteil

Look-alike desk: Nächte vs Nachteil

A purely visual mix-up. Nächte ([ˈnɛçtə]) and Nachteil ([ˈnaːxˌtaɪ̯l]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12427, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Nächte is recorded at frequency rank #6,335, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɛçtə]. Nachteil is at rank #6,092, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌtaɪ̯l].

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 12427, this pair ranks #1,964,262 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Nächte vs Nachteil

Shared letters: cehnt. Private to "Nächte": ä. Private to "Nachteil": ail.

"Nächte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "Nachteil" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Nachteil ← anchteil · nacchteil · nachetil · nachhteil · nachteill · nachteli · nachtiel · nachtteil

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Nächte" for "Nachteil" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɛçtə] versus [ˈnaːxˌtaɪ̯l]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Nächte" or "Nachteil"?
"Nachteil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,092 in our German list, against #6,335 for "Nächte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Nächte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Nachteil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,964,262 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Nächte" and "Nachteil" 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 #1,964,262 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