NächtevsNichtsTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,335
“Nächte” frequency rank
#129
“Nichts” frequency rank
6464
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Nächte Nichts
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nacht Ort, an dem nichts existiert, Raum, der leer ist

Where the eye mixes Nächte and Nichts

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Nächte (CVCCCV) and Nichts (CVCCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Nächte
6 ch
Nichts

Look-alike desk: Nächte vs Nichts

A purely visual mix-up. Nächte ([ˈnɛçtə]) and Nichts ([nɪçt͡s]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6464, 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]. Nichts is at rank #129, tagged as anoun, pronounced [nɪçt͡s].

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 6464, this pair ranks #1,991,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Nächte vs Nichts

Shared letters: chnt. Private to "Nächte": eä. Private to "Nichts": is.

"Nächte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "Nichts" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Nichts ← inchts · ncihts · nicchts · nichhts · nichst · nichtss · nichtts · nicths

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Nächte" and "Nichts" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɛçtə] versus [nɪçt͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Nächte" vs "Nichts" - which ranks higher?
"Nichts" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #129 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.

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 "Nichts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,991,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Nächte" and "Nichts" 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 #1,991,554 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