NoravsnousWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Nora is a name, nous is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Nora” is a name and “nous” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,979
“Nora” frequency rank
#37,704
“nous” frequency rank
50683
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Nora nous
Definition weiblicher Vorname; Kurzform von Eleonore wir

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Nora and nous apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Nora
4 ch
nous

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Nora is [ˈnoːʁa] while nous is [nu]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50683, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Nora is recorded at frequency rank #12,979, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈnoːʁa]. nous is at rank #37,704, tagged as apron, pronounced [nu].

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 50683, this pair ranks #1,164,475 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Nora vs nous

Shared letters: no. Private to "Nora": ar. Private to "nous": su.

"Nora" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "nous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Norannora · noar · norra · nroa · onra
  • nousnnous · nosu · nouss · nuos · onus

Frequency comparison

Nora#12,979
nous#37,704

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Nora" and "nous" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Nora" is a name and "nous" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Nora" or "nous"?
"Nora" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,979 in our German list, against #37,704 for "nous". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Nora vs nous

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Nora”; for a pronoun, it's “nous”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Nora” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list