NächtenvsnähenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Nächten is a noun, nähen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Nächten” is a noun and “nähen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,664
“Nächten” frequency rank
#13,452
“nähen” frequency rank
31116
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Nächten nähen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Nacht Textilteile mit einem Faden verbinden

Where the eye mixes Nächten and nähen

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

7 ch
Nächten
5 ch
nähen

Why the eye confuses Nächten with nähen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Nächten is [ˈnɛçtn̩] while nähen is [ˈnɛːən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31116, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Nächten is recorded at frequency rank #17,664, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɛçtn̩]. nähen is at rank #13,452, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnɛːən].

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 31116, this pair ranks #1,734,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Nächten vs nähen

Shared letters: ehnä. Private to "Nächten": ct. Private to "nähen": -.

"Nächten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "nähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Nächten" and "nähen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Nächten" is a noun and "nähen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Nächten" vs "nähen" - which ranks higher?
"nähen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,452 in our German list, against #17,664 for "Nächten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Nächten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nähen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,734,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Nächten" and "nähen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nagen vs nähen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,734,488 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