Which to use
“NB” is a phrase and “nbsp” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,908
- “NB” frequency rank
- #25,856
- “nbsp” frequency rank
- 43764
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | NB | nbsp |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Initialism of nota bene; used in written English to introduce something to be noted. | Initialism of non-breaking space. |
Letter map: NB vs nbsp
Shared letters muted; letters that set NB and nbsp apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. NB runs 2 letters (CC) against nbsp's 4 (CCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Part-of-speech tell for NB / nbsp
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: NB is aphrase and nbspanoun. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “NB” sits inside “nbsp”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43764, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
NB is recorded at frequency rank #17,908, classified as aphrase. nbsp is at rank #25,856, 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 43764, this pair ranks #236,923 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of NB vs nbsp
Shared letters: bn. Private to "NB": -. Private to "nbsp": ps.
"NB" · 2 letters · shape CC · "nbsp" · 4 letters · shape CCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nbsp ← bnsp · nbbsp · nbps · nbspp · nbssp · nnbsp · nsbp
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "NB" for "nbsp" ever safe?
Frequency check: "NB" vs "nbsp" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pair "NB" vs "nbsp" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "NB" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nbsp" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #236,923 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "NB" and "nbsp" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Nasr vs nbsp". 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 #236,923 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.