Which to use
“nada” is a pronoun and “não” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #69
- “nada” frequency rank
- #41,506
- “não” frequency rank
- 41575
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nada | não |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ninguna cosa. | No. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nada and não apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nada is [ˈnað̞a] while não is [nɐ̃w]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nada is recorded at frequency rank #69, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈnað̞a]. não is at rank #41,506, tagged as anadv, pronounced [nɐ̃w].
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 41575, this pair ranks #152,924 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nada vs não
Shared letters: n. Private to "nada": ad. Private to "não": oã.
"nada" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "não" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- nada ← naad · nadda · ndaa · nnada
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nada" and "não" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "nada" or "não"?
Remembering nada vs não
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “nada”; for an adverb, it's “não”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nada” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable