nous

/naʊs/

//naʊs// noun

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

"nous" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nous” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #29,396) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#29,396
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The mind or intellect, reason, both rational and emotional.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nous · nous · English

nous · rank #29,396 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,396
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH normalization

Nearest frequency peer: normalization (-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 “nous”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “nous” 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).

nous vs nu
50% similar
nous vs now
50% similar
nous vs nov
50% similar

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

Key facts for nous
PropertyValue
Headwordnous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/naʊs/
Letters4
Frequency rank#29,396
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “nous”

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).nouslands 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 “normalization” (#29,395), “Oahu” (#29,397), “nestle” (#29,394). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nous” is #29,396. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for nous is neighbouring look-alikes ("nu", "now", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /naʊs/. Frequency #29,396 among 1,534 “N” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for nous, with forms such as "nnous", "nosu", and "nouss". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "nu", "now", "nov", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Ancient Greek νοῦς (noûs) or νόος (nóos, “mind”). The correct English form is nous, spelled N-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The mind or intellect, reason, both rational and emotional.
  2. 2
    The divine reason, regarded as first divine emanation.
  3. 3
    Common sense; practical intelligence.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I feel the will to roam, to learn By test, experience, nous, That fire is hot and ocean deep, And wolves carnivorous.
  2. to demonstrate nous

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek νοῦς (noûs) or νόος (nóos, “mind”).

This word in other languages

nous(Français)Nous(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nnous
  • nosu
  • nouss
  • nuos

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nous - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

nnous1nosu2nouss1nuos2
Edit distance from "nous"

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 "nous"?
"nous" is spelled N-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /naʊs/.
What does "nous" mean?
As a noun, "nous" means: The mind or intellect, reason, both rational and emotional.
What words are commonly confused with "nous"?
"nous" is commonly confused with "nu", "now", "nov". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nous" is /naʊs/. 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 "nous"?
Borrowed from Ancient Greek νοῦς (noûs) or νόος (nóos, “mind”). 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 "nous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Oahu#29,397mush#29,390onus#29,402onyx#29,403

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list