Which to use
“nicks” and “nis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,523
- “nicks” frequency rank
- #33,760
- “nis” frequency rank
- 60283
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nicks | nis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of nick | A nix; a hobgoblin, especially one that resides in a farm house. |
Letter map: nicks vs nis
Shared letters muted; letters that set nicks and nis apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. nicks runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against nis's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Pair insight - nicks / nis
nicks 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 60283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nicks is recorded at frequency rank #26,523, classified as anoun, pronounced /nɪks/. 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 60283, this pair ranks #101,060 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of nicks vs nis
Shared letters: ins. Private to "nicks": ck. Private to "nis": -.
"nicks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "nis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nicks ← incks · nciks · niccks · nickks · nickss · nicsk · nikcs · nnicks
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nicks" and "nis" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "nicks" vs "nis" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "nicks" and "nis".
- Full dictionary entry for "nicks" 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 #101,060 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nicks" 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 #101,060 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.