Which to use
“nome” and “nous” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,283
- “nome” frequency rank
- #29,396
- “nous” frequency rank
- 72679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nome | nous |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A prefecture or unit of regional government in Greece. | The mind or intellect, reason, both rational and emotional. |
Where the eye mixes nome and nous
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. nome (CVCV) and nous (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: nome vs nous
A purely visual mix-up. nome (/nəʊm/) and nous (/naʊs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nome is recorded at frequency rank #43,283, classified as anoun, pronounced /nəʊm/. nous is at rank #29,396, tagged as anoun, pronounced /naʊs/.
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 72679, this pair ranks #42,261 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of nome vs nous
Shared letters: no. Private to "nome": em. Private to "nous": su.
"nome" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "nous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nome" and "nous" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "nome" or "nous"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nome" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nous" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,261 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nome" and "nous" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nome vs nori". 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 #42,261 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.