nous
/nuːs/noun
nous is spelled N-O-U-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nous means “The mind or intellect, faculty for rationality or reason using the necessary common sense or awareness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in nous?
| Letters | 4: N-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,270th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is nous?
Nous appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nous?
- UK /naʊs/
- US /nuːs/
Nous has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-nous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with nous?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as nous from its last stressed vowel (/us/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: onus.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of nous
- noos
- nouse
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The mind or intellect, faculty for rationality or reason using the necessary common sense or awareness.
- 2
The divine reason, regarded as first divine emanation.
- 3
Common sense; practical intelligence.
to demonstrate nous
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense reason in philosophy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | nous |
| German | Nous |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nous come from?
Borrowed from Ancient Greek νοῦς (noûs) or νόος (nóos, “mind”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).