Which to use
“Nachteile” and “Nachteilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,741
- “Nachteile” frequency rank
- #31,700
- “Nachteilen” frequency rank
- 37441
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Nachteile | Nachteilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Nachteil | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Nachteil |
Where the eye mixes Nachteile and Nachteilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Nachteile runs 9 letters (CVCCCVVCV) against Nachteilen's 10 (CVCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Nachteile and Nachteilen
A purely visual mix-up. Nachteile ([ˈnaːxtaɪ̯lə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Nachteile” sits inside “Nachteilen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37441, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Nachteile is recorded at frequency rank #5,741, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaːxtaɪ̯lə]. 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 37441, this pair ranks #1,590,156 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Nachteile vs Nachteilen
Shared letters: acehilnt. Private to "Nachteile": -. Private to "Nachteilen": -.
"Nachteile" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCV · "Nachteilen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Nachteile ← anchteile · nacchteile · nachetile · nachhteile · nachteiel · nachteille · nachtelie · nachtiele
- Nachteilen ← anchteilen · nacchteilen · nachetilen · nachhteilen · nachteieln · nachteilenn · nachteillen · nachteilne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Nachteile" and "Nachteilen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Nachteile" or "Nachteilen" show up more?
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 "Nachteile" 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 #1,590,156 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Nachteile" 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 #1,590,156 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.