new

/njuː/

//njuː// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"new" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“new” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #65) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#65
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Recently made, or created.

Corpus desk

Index EN-new · new · English

new · rank #65 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #65
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH she

Nearest frequency peer: she (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “new”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “new” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

new vs NJ
0% similar
new vs ni
33% similar
new vs Ng
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for new
PropertyValue
Headwordnew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/njuː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#65
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “new”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).newlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “she” (#64), “people” (#66), “would” (#63). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “new” is #65. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for new is neighbouring look-alikes ("NJ", "ni", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced /njuː/. Frequency #65 among 1,534 “N” headwords. 12 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

new doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "NJ", "ni", "Ng", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English newe, from Old English nīewe, from Proto-West Germanic *niwi, from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *néwyos (“new”), from *néwos. Compare also Old English nū (“now”). More at now. Doublet of nuevo, novuss, and neo-. Cogna… The correct English form is new, spelled N-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    Recently made, or created.
  2. 2
    Recently made, or created.
  3. 3
    Additional; recently discovered.
  4. 4
    Current or later, as opposed to former.
  5. 5
    Used to distinguish something established more recently, named after something or some place previously existing.
  6. 6
    In original condition; pristine; not previously worn or used.
  7. 7
    Refreshed, reinvigorated, reformed.
  8. 8
    Newborn.
  9. 9
    Strange, unfamiliar or not previously known.
  10. 10
    Recently arrived or appeared.
  11. 11
    Inexperienced or unaccustomed at some task.
  12. 12
    Next; about to begin or recently begun.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how new appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This is a new scratch on my car! The band just released a new album.
  2. The cookers cost £350 new but £150 secondhand.

Etymology

From Middle English newe, from Old English nīewe, from Proto-West Germanic *niwi, from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *néwyos (“new”), from *néwos. Compare also Old English nū (“now”). More at now. Doublet of nuevo, novuss, and neo-. Cognates Cognate with Scots new (“new”), North Frisian nai, nei, nii (“new”), Saterland Frisian näi (“new”), West Frisian nij (“new”), Alemannic German nöi, nüüw (“new”), Bavarian neich (“new”), Cimbrian naüge (“new”), Dutch nieuw, nij (“new”), Dutch Low Saxon nij (“new”), German neu, new, neuw (“new”), Low German nee, neei (“new”), Luxembourgish nei (“new”), Yiddish נײַ (nay, “new”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish ny (“new”), Faroese nýggjur (“new”), Icelandic nýr (“new”), Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌹𐍃 (niujis, “new”), Latin novus (“new”), Ancient Greek νέος (néos, “new”), Welsh newydd (“new”), Russian но́вый (nóvyj, “new”), Armenian նոր (nor, “new”), Persian نو (now, “new”), Northern Kurdish nû (“new”), Hindi नया (nayā, “new”), Tocharian B ñuwe (“new”).

Synonyms

newall-newbrand newbrand spanking newcherryfreshfreshly madegreenhotmintnascentnewishnew-laidnovelpristinered-hotunusedverdurousvirginvirginalyouthful

Antonyms

old

This word in other languages

nuevo(Español)nouveau(Français)neu(Deutsch)novo(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "new"?
"new" is spelled N-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /njuː/.
What does "new" mean?
As an adjective, "new" means: Recently made, or created.
What words are commonly confused with "new"?
"new" is commonly confused with "NJ", "ni", "Ng". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "new"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "new" is /njuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "new"?
From Middle English newe, from Old English nīewe, from Proto-West Germanic *niwi, from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *néwyos (“new”), from *néwos. Compare also Old English nū (“now”). More at now. Doublet of nuevo, novuss, and n... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "new", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

she#64how#67get#61her#58

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list