Which to use
“nous” and “nuns” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,396
- “nous” frequency rank
- #15,233
- “nuns” frequency rank
- 44629
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nous | nuns |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The mind or intellect, reason, both rational and emotional. | plural of nun |
Where the eye mixes nous and nuns
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. nous (CVVC) and nuns (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between nous and nuns
A purely visual mix-up. nous (/naʊs/) and nuns (/nʌnz/) 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 44629, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nous is recorded at frequency rank #29,396, classified as anoun, pronounced /naʊs/. nuns is at rank #15,233, tagged as anoun, pronounced /nʌnz/.
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 44629, this pair ranks #228,784 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nous vs nuns
Shared letters: nsu. Private to "nous": o. Private to "nuns": -.
"nous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "nuns" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nous" and "nuns" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "nous" vs "nuns" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "nous" and "nuns" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "nous" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nuns" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #228,784 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nous" and "nuns" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nooks vs nous". 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 #228,784 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.