Which to use
“nous” is a pronoun and “nut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,704
- “nous” frequency rank
- #36,531
- “nut” frequency rank
- 74235
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nous | nut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | wir | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs nuten |
Where the eye mixes nous and nut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses nous with nut
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nous is [nu] while nut is [nuːt]. 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 (pronoun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74235, 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]. nut is at rank #36,531, tagged as averb, pronounced [nuːt].
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 74235, this pair ranks #338,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of nous vs nut
Shared letters: nu. Private to "nous": os. Private to "nut": t.
"nous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "nut" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nous ← nnous · nosu · nouss · nuos · onus
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nous" for "nut" ever safe?
Frequency check: "nous" vs "nut" - which ranks higher?
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 "nous" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #338,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nous" and "nut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nous vs nox". 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 #338,815 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.