NächtevsNichtenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,335
“Nächte” frequency rank
#35,354
“Nichten” frequency rank
41689
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Nächte Nichten
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nacht Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nichte

Where the eye mixes Nächte and Nichten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Nächte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against Nichten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Nächte
7 ch
Nichten

Why the eye confuses Nächte with Nichten

A purely visual mix-up. Nächte ([ˈnɛçtə]) and Nichten ([ˈnɪçtn̩]) 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 41689, 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]. Nichten is at rank #35,354, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɪçtn̩].

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 41689, this pair ranks #1,471,988 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Nächte vs Nichten

Shared letters: cehnt. Private to "Nächte": ä. Private to "Nichten": i.

"Nächte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "Nichten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Nichten ← inchten · ncihten · nicchten · nichetn · nichhten · nichtenn · nichtne · nichtten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Nächte" for "Nichten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɛçtə] versus [ˈnɪçtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Nächte" or "Nichten"?
"Nächte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,335 in our German list, against #35,354 for "Nichten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Nächte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Nichten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,471,988 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Nächte" and "Nichten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Nähten vs Nichten". 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 #1,471,988 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