Which to use
“nicht” is a particle and “nick” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,971
- “nicht” frequency rank
- #6,531
- “nick” frequency rank
- 43502
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nicht | nick |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pas, ne pas. | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de nicken. |
Where the eye mixes nicht and nick
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. nicht runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against nick's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses nicht with nick
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nicht is \nɪçt\ while nick is \nɪk\. 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 (particle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43502, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nicht is recorded at frequency rank #36,971, classified as aparticle, pronounced \nɪçt\. nick is at rank #6,531, tagged as averb, pronounced \nɪk\.
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 43502, this pair ranks #217,577 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nicht vs nick
Shared letters: cin. Private to "nicht": ht. Private to "nick": k.
"nicht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "nick" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nicht" and "nick" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "nicht" or "nick"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nicht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nick" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #217,577 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nicht" and "nick" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nichée vs nicht". 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 #217,577 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.