Which to use
“nails” and “nis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,711
- “nails” frequency rank
- #33,760
- “nis” frequency rank
- 40471
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nails | nis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of nail | A nix; a hobgoblin, especially one that resides in a farm house. |
Letter map: nails vs nis
Shared letters muted; letters that set nails and nis apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Corpus notes: nails and nis
nails and nis are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nails is recorded at frequency rank #6,711, classified as anoun, pronounced /neɪlz/. nis is at rank #33,760, tagged as anoun.
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 40471, this pair ranks #267,285 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nails vs nis
Shared letters: ins. Private to "nails": al. Private to "nis": -.
"nails" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "nis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nails ← anils · naills · nailss · naisl · nalis · nials · nnails
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nails" and "nis" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "nails" or "nis"?
Useful next steps
Pair "nails" vs "nis" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "nails" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #267,285 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nails" and "nis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nis 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 #267,285 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.