ninesvsnisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,430
“nines” frequency rank
#33,760
“nis” frequency rank
69190
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nines nis
Definition A pair of nines. A nix; a hobgoblin, especially one that resides in a farm house.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nines and nis apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
nines
3 ch
nis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

nines 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 69190, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nines is recorded at frequency rank #35,430, classified as anoun. 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 69190, this pair ranks #55,604 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of nines vs nis

Shared letters: ins. Private to "nines": e. Private to "nis": -.

"nines" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "nis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ninesinnes · niens · niness · ninnes · ninse · nnies · nnines

Frequency comparison

nines#35,430
nis#33,760

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nines" and "nis" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "nines" or "nis"?
"nis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,760 in our English list, against #35,430 for "nines". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nines vs nis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nines” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list