non

/nɑn/

//nɑn// adv

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

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

The verdict

“non” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #515) as an adverb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#515
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Obsolete form of none.

Corpus desk

Index EN-non · non · English

non · rank #515 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #515
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH near

Nearest frequency peer: near (-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 “non”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “non” 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).

non vs NZ
0% similar
non vs NT
0% similar
non vs NP
0% similar

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

Key facts for non
PropertyValue
Headwordnon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/nɑn/
Letters3
Frequency rank#515
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “non”

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).nonlands 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 “near” (#514), “plan” (#516), “market” (#513). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “non” is #515. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for non is neighbouring look-alikes ("NZ", "NT", …), not just typos; it is anadverb pronounced /nɑn/. Frequency #515 among 1,534 “N” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for non, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "NZ", "NT", "NP", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is non, spelled N-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Obsolete form of none.
  2. 2
    Used to negate or invert the meaning of the following adjective. More properly written as the prefix non-.

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 "non"?
"non" is spelled N-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /nɑn/.
What does "non" mean?
As an adverb, "non" means: Obsolete form of none.
What words are commonly confused with "non"?
"non" is commonly confused with "NZ", "NT", "NP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "non"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "non" is /nɑn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "non" come from?
"non" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "non", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

six#519art#508fun#502ACT#497

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list