Which to use
“nobody” is a pronoun and “nobody's” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,200
- “nobody” frequency rank
- #12,815
- “nobody's” frequency rank
- 14015
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nobody | nobody's |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Not any person; the logical negation of somebody. | Possessive case of nobody. (This entry is a translation hub.) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nobody and nobody's apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: nobody is apronoun and nobody'sadeterminer. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “nobody” sits inside “nobody's”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14015, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nobody is recorded at frequency rank #1,200, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈnəʊ.bɒd.i/. nobody's is at rank #12,815, tagged as adet.
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 14015, this pair ranks #472,549 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nobody vs nobody's
Shared letters: bdnoy. Private to "nobody": -. Private to "nobody's": s.
"nobody" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "nobody's" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nobody ← nboody · nnobody · nobbody · nobdoy · noboddy · nobodyy · noboyd · noobdy
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nobody" and "nobody's" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "nobody" or "nobody's"?
Remembering nobody vs nobody's
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “nobody”; for a determiner, it's “nobody's”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nobody” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable