Which to use
“Nichten” is a noun and “nicken” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,354
- “Nichten” frequency rank
- #23,645
- “nicken” frequency rank
- 58999
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Nichten | nicken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nichte | (zur Bejahung, Zustimmung, als Geste des Verstehens, als Gruß oder dergleichen) den Kopf kurz hintereinander senken und heben |
Where the eye mixes Nichten and nicken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Nichten runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against nicken's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Nichten with nicken
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Nichten is [ˈnɪçtn̩] while nicken is [ˈnɪkn̩]. 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 58999, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Nichten is recorded at frequency rank #35,354, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnɪçtn̩]. nicken is at rank #23,645, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnɪkn̩].
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 58999, this pair ranks #841,153 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Nichten vs nicken
Shared letters: cein. Private to "Nichten": ht. Private to "nicken": k.
"Nichten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "nicken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Nichten" and "nicken" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Nichten" or "nicken" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Nichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nicken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #841,153 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Nichten" and "nicken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nicken vs Nissen". 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 #841,153 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.