Which to use
“knit” is a verb and “nit” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,907
- “knit” frequency rank
- #25,859
- “nit” frequency rank
- 37766
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | knit | nit |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To turn thread or yarn into a piece of fabric by forming loops that are pulled through each other. This can be done by hand with needles or by machine. | The egg of a louse. |
Same sound, different letters: knit vs nit
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters.
Homophone desk: knit vs nit
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: knit and nit carry the same recorded pronunciation, /nɪt/. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “nit” sits inside “knit”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37766, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
knit is recorded at frequency rank #11,907, classified as averb, pronounced /nɪt/. nit is at rank #25,859, tagged as anoun, pronounced /nɪt/.
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 37766, this pair ranks #291,683 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of knit vs nit
Shared letters: int. Private to "knit": k. Private to "nit": -.
"knit" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "nit" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- knit ← kint · kknit · knitt · knnit · knti · nkit
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "knit" for "nit" ever safe?
Which is more common, "knit" or "nit"?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "knit" / "nit". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "knit" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #291,683 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "knit" and "nit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nit vs NPL". 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 #291,683 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.