Which to use
“Nichten” is a noun and “nickte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,354
- “Nichten” frequency rank
- #25,687
- “nickte” frequency rank
- 61041
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Nichten | nickte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Nichte | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs nicken |
Where the eye mixes Nichten and nickte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Nichten runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against nickte's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Nichten vs nickte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Nichten is [ˈnɪçtn̩] while nickte is [ˈnɪktə]. 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 61041, 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]. nickte is at rank #25,687, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnɪktə].
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 61041, this pair ranks #764,477 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Nichten vs nickte
Shared letters: ceint. Private to "Nichten": h. Private to "nickte": k.
"Nichten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "nickte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Nichten" and "nickte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Nichten" or "nickte"?
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 "Nichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nickte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #764,477 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Nichten" and "nickte" 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 #764,477 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.