Nachtlicht

[ˈnaxtˌlɪçt]

/[ˈnaxtˌlɪçt]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Nachtlicht” is an uncommon German word, ranked #95,998 in German word frequency and used as a noun.

#95,998
frequency rank, German
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - stark gedämpfte Lichtquelle, die nachts in Treppenhäusern oder Fluren der Orientierung in der Dunkelheit dient

Key facts for Nachtlicht
PropertyValue
HeadwordNachtlicht
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈnaxtˌlɪçt]
Letters10
Frequency rank#95,998
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Nachtlicht” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Nachtlicht lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Nachtlicht is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈnaxtˌlɪçt]. Corpus data places it at rank #95,998 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "stark gedämpfte Lichtquelle, die nachts in Treppenhäusern oder Fluren der Orientierung in der Dunkelheit dient".

Nachtlicht doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Nachtlicht, spelled N-A-C-H-T-L-I-C-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    stark gedämpfte Lichtquelle, die nachts in Treppenhäusern oder Fluren der Orientierung in der Dunkelheit dient

Synonyms

Nachtorientierungslicht

This word in other languages

nightlight(English)lamparilla(Español)veilleuse(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Nachtlicht"?
"Nachtlicht" is spelled N-A-C-H-T-L-I-C-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈnaxtˌlɪçt].
What does "Nachtlicht" mean?
As a noun, "Nachtlicht" means: stark gedämpfte Lichtquelle, die nachts in Treppenhäusern oder Fluren der Orientierung in der Dunkelheit dient
How do you pronounce "Nachtlicht"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Nachtlicht" is [ˈnaxtˌlɪçt]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Nachtlicht" come from?
"Nachtlicht" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “Nachtlicht”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is N-A-C-H-T-L-I-C-H-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈnaxtˌlɪçt] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list