Which to use
“Nachteil” and “Nachteilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,092
- “Nachteil” frequency rank
- #31,700
- “Nachteilen” frequency rank
- 37792
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Nachteil | Nachteilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | negative oder unerwünschte Folge oder negativer Nebeneffekt, zum Beispiel einer Lösung, eines Vorgehens, einer Überlegung | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Nachteil |
Where the eye mixes Nachteil and Nachteilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Nachteil and Nachteilen
A purely visual mix-up. Nachteil ([ˈnaːxˌtaɪ̯l]) and Nachteilen ([ˈnaːxtaɪ̯lən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Nachteil” sits inside “Nachteilen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37792, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Nachteil is recorded at frequency rank #6,092, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌtaɪ̯l]. Nachteilen is at rank #31,700, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaːxtaɪ̯lən].
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 37792, this pair ranks #1,580,938 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Nachteil vs Nachteilen
Shared letters: acehilnt. Private to "Nachteil": -. Private to "Nachteilen": -.
"Nachteil" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC · "Nachteilen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Nachteil ← anchteil · nacchteil · nachetil · nachhteil · nachteill · nachteli · nachtiel · nachtteil
- Nachteilen ← anchteilen · nacchteilen · nachetilen · nachhteilen · nachteieln · nachteilenn · nachteillen · nachteilne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Nachteil" and "Nachteilen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Nachteil" or "Nachteilen"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Nachteil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Nachteilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,580,938 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Nachteil" and "Nachteilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nachstellen vs Nachteilen". 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 #1,580,938 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.