Which to use
“nice” is an adjective and “nicht” is a particle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,988
- “nice” frequency rank
- #8
- “nicht” frequency rank
- 5996
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nice | nicht |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von guter Qualität | Partikel, die die Verneinung, die Negierung beziehungsweise die Negation ausdrückt |
Where the eye mixes nice and nicht
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses nice with nicht
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nice is [naɪ̯s] while nicht is [nɪçt]. 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 particle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5996, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nice is recorded at frequency rank #5,988, classified as anadj, pronounced [naɪ̯s]. nicht is at rank #8, tagged as aparticle, pronounced [nɪçt].
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 5996, this pair ranks #1,993,048 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nice vs nicht
Shared letters: cin. Private to "nice": e. Private to "nicht": ht.
"nice" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "nicht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nice" for "nicht" ever safe?
Frequency check: "nice" vs "nicht" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "nice" and "nicht" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "nice" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nicht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,993,048 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nice" and "nicht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nice vs node". 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 #1,993,048 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.