nousvsNussWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#37,704
“nous” frequency rank
#13,905
“Nuss” frequency rank
51609
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nous Nuss
Definition wir essbarer, ölhaltiger Same mit harter Schale

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nous and Nuss apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
nous
4 ch
Nuss

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nous is [nu] while Nuss is [nʊs]. 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 (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51609, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nous is recorded at frequency rank #37,704, classified as apron, pronounced [nu]. Nuss is at rank #13,905, tagged as anoun, pronounced [nʊs].

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 51609, this pair ranks #1,128,947 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nous vs Nuss

Shared letters: nsu. Private to "nous": o. Private to "Nuss": -.

"nous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Nuss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nousnnous · nosu · nouss · nuos · onus
  • Nussnnuss · nsus · nus · nuß · unss

Frequency comparison

nous#37,704
Nuss#13,905

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nous" and "Nuss" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nous" is a pronoun and "Nuss" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nous" or "Nuss"?
"Nuss" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,905 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 nous vs Nuss

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “nous”; for a noun, it's “Nuss”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nous” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list