nahevsNähteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nahe is a adjective, Nähte is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nahe” is an adjective and “Nähte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,064
“nahe” frequency rank
#27,876
“Nähte” frequency rank
28940
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nahe Nähte
Definition räumlich nahe, wenig entfernt Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Naht

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nahe and Nähte apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
nahe
5 ch
Nähte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nahe is [ˈnaːə] while Nähte is [ˈnɛːtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nahe is recorded at frequency rank #1,064, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnaːə]. Nähte is at rank #27,876, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɛːtə].

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 28940, this pair ranks #1,775,845 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nahe vs Nähte

Shared letters: ehn. Private to "nahe": a. Private to "Nähte": .

"nahe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Nähte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • naheanhe · naeh · nahhe · nhae · nnahe

Frequency comparison

nahe#1,064
Nähte#27,876

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nahe" and "Nähte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nahe" is an adjective and "Nähte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nahe" or "Nähte"?
"nahe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,064 in our German list, against #27,876 for "Nähte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering nahe vs Nähte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “nahe”; for a noun, it's “Nähte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nahe” 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