Which to use
“ne” is an adverb and “nou” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,998
- “ne” frequency rank
- #19,508
- “nou” frequency rank
- 28506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ne | nou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | No. | Nuevo |
Letter map: ne vs nou
Shared letters muted; letters that set ne and nou apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - ne and nou
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ne is anadverb and nouanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28506, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ne is recorded at frequency rank #8,998, classified as anadv. nou is at rank #19,508, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnow].
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 28506, this pair ranks #221,699 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ne vs nou
Shared letters: n. Private to "ne": e. Private to "nou": ou.
"ne" · 2 letters · shape CV · "nou" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ne" and "nou" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ne" or "nou"?
Useful next steps
You've compared "ne" and "nou". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "ne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #221,699 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ne" and "nou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nou vs nox". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #221,699 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.