Which to use
“Nichte” is a noun and “nickt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,354
- “Nichte” frequency rank
- #24,055
- “nickt” frequency rank
- 36409
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Nichte | nickt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tochter der Schwester oder des Bruders , im weiteren Sinne auch des Schwagers oder der Schwägerin | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nicken |
Where the eye mixes Nichte and nickt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Nichte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against nickt's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Nichte with nickt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Nichte is [ˈnɪçtə] while nickt is [nɪkt]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36409, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Nichte is recorded at frequency rank #12,354, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɪçtə]. nickt is at rank #24,055, tagged as averb, pronounced [nɪkt].
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 36409, this pair ranks #1,616,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Nichte vs nickt
Shared letters: cint. Private to "Nichte": eh. Private to "nickt": k.
"Nichte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "nickt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Nichte" for "nickt" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Nichte" or "nickt" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Nichte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nickt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,616,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Nichte" and "nickt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "neck vs nickt". 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 #1,616,328 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.