Which to use
“nicht” is a particle and “Nichten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8
- “nicht” frequency rank
- #35,354
- “Nichten” frequency rank
- 35362
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nicht | Nichten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partikel, die die Verneinung, die Negierung beziehungsweise die Negation ausdrückt | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nichte |
Where the eye mixes nicht and Nichten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between nicht and Nichten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nicht is [nɪçt] while Nichten is [ˈnɪçtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “nicht” sits inside “Nichten”, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35362, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nicht is recorded at frequency rank #8, classified as aparticle, pronounced [nɪçt]. Nichten is at rank #35,354, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɪçtn̩].
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 35362, this pair ranks #1,641,808 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nicht vs Nichten
Shared letters: chint. Private to "nicht": -. Private to "Nichten": e.
"nicht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "Nichten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nicht" and "Nichten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "nicht" or "Nichten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "nicht" and "Nichten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "nicht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Nichten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,641,808 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nicht" and "Nichten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Nähten vs Nichten". 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 #1,641,808 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.