Which to use
“nbsp” is a noun and “nosy” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,856
- “nbsp” frequency rank
- #34,995
- “nosy” frequency rank
- 60851
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nbsp | nosy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Initialism of non-breaking space. | Prying, inquisitive or curious in other’s affairs; tending to snoop or meddle. |
Letter map: nbsp vs nosy
Shared letters muted; letters that set nbsp and nosy apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. nbsp (CCCC) and nosy (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Grammar separator: nbsp vs nosy
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: nbsp is anoun and nosyanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60851, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nbsp is recorded at frequency rank #25,856, classified as anoun. nosy is at rank #34,995, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈnəʊziː/.
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 60851, this pair ranks #97,724 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of nbsp vs nosy
Shared letters: ns. Private to "nbsp": bp. Private to "nosy": oy.
"nbsp" · 4 letters · shape CCCC · "nosy" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nbsp" for "nosy" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "nbsp" or "nosy" show up more?
Useful next steps
You've compared "nbsp" and "nosy". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "nbsp" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nosy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #97,724 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nbsp" and "nosy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Nasr vs nosy". 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 #97,724 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.