nevsnonConfusable pair

Quick tell: ne is a adverb, non is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ne” is an adverb and “non” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,998
“ne” frequency rank
#9,501
“non” frequency rank
18499
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ne non
Definition No. Dícese del número no divisible por dos.

Letter map: ne vs non

Shared letters muted; letters that set ne and non apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

2 ch
ne
3 ch
non

Grammar separator: ne vs non

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ne is anadverb and nonanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18499, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ne is recorded at frequency rank #8,998, classified as anadv. non is at rank #9,501, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnõn].

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 18499, this pair ranks #267,682 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ne vs non

Shared letters: n. Private to "ne": e. Private to "non": o.

"ne" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "non" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ne" and "non" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ne" is an adverb and "non" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ne" or "non"?
"ne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,998 in our Spanish list, against #9,501 for "non". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pair "ne" vs "non" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "non" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #267,682 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ne" and "non" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "non vs nox". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #267,682 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list