NächtevsNähtenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,335
“Nächte” frequency rank
#34,834
“Nähten” frequency rank
41169
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Nächte Nähten
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nacht Dativ Plural des Substantivs Naht

Where the eye mixes Nächte and Nähten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Nächte (CVCCCV) and Nähten (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Nächte
6 ch
Nähten

Look-alike desk: Nächte vs Nähten

A purely visual mix-up. Nächte ([ˈnɛçtə]) and Nähten ([ˈnɛːtn̩]) 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 41169, 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]. Nähten is at rank #34,834, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɛːtn̩].

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 41169, this pair ranks #1,487,311 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Nächte vs Nähten

Shared letters: ehntä. Private to "Nächte": c. Private to "Nähten": -.

"Nächte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "Nähten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Nächte" for "Nähten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɛçtə] versus [ˈnɛːtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Nächte" or "Nähten" show up more?
"Nächte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,335 in our German list, against #34,834 for "Nähten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Nächte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Nähten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,487,311 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Nächte" and "Nähten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagen vs Nähten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,487,311 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