nachtsvsnightsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nachts is a adverb, nights is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nachts” is an adverb and “nights” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,165
“nachts” frequency rank
#32,186
“nights” frequency rank
34351
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nachts nights
Definition Zeitangabe: In der Nacht, während der Nacht Plural des Substantivs night

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nachts and nights apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
nachts
6 ch
nights

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nachts is [naxt͡s] while nights is [naɪts]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34351, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nachts is recorded at frequency rank #2,165, classified as anadv, pronounced [naxt͡s]. nights is at rank #32,186, tagged as anoun, pronounced [naɪts].

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 34351, this pair ranks #1,665,283 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nachts vs nights

Shared letters: hnst. Private to "nachts": ac. Private to "nights": gi.

"nachts" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "nights" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nachtsanchts · nacchts · nachhts · nachst · nachtss · nachtts · nacths · nahcts
  • nightsinghts · ngihts · nigghts · nighhts · nighst · nightss · nightts · nigths

Frequency comparison

nachts#2,165
nights#32,186

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nachts" and "nights" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nachts" is an adverb and "nights" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nachts" or "nights"?
"nachts" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,165 in our German list, against #32,186 for "nights". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering nachts vs nights

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “nachts”; for a noun, it's “nights”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nachts” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list