navsnonWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“na” and “non” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,512
“na” frequency rank
#515
“non” frequency rank
4027
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature na non
Definition Not. Obsolete form of none.

Where the eye mixes na and non

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch
na
3 ch
non

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. na (/nɑː/) and non (/nɑn/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

na is recorded at frequency rank #3,512, classified as anadv, pronounced /nɑː/. non is at rank #515, tagged as anadv, pronounced /nɑn/.

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 4027, this pair ranks #520,236 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of na vs non

Shared letters: n. Private to "na": a. Private to "non": o.

"na" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "non" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "na" and "non" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/nɑː/ versus /nɑn/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "na" or "non"?
"non" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #515 in our English list, against #3,512 for "na". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list