# nitro vs nitrous

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### nitro
*noun · IPA /ˈnaɪtɹəʊ/ · frequency rank #21,596*
The univalent NO₂ functional group.

### nitrous
*adjective · IPA /ˈnaɪtɹəs/ · frequency rank #30,513*
Pertaining to or composed of nitre; having the properties of nitre, bitter.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nitro-vs-nitrous