Which to use
“no” is an adverb and “nu” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9
- “no” frequency rank
- #15,177
- “nu” frequency rank
- 15186
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | no | nu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Adverbio de negación, respondiendo a una pregunta. | Desnudo. |
Where the eye mixes no and nu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses no with nu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: no is [ˈno] while nu is [ny]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - o in “no” becomes u in “nu”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15186, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
no is recorded at frequency rank #9, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈno]. nu is at rank #15,177, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ny].
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 15186, this pair ranks #281,190 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of no vs nu
Shared letters: n. Private to "no": o. Private to "nu": u.
"no" · 2 letters · shape CV · "nu" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "no" for "nu" ever safe?
Frequency check: "no" vs "nu" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "no" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #281,190 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "no" and "nu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nox vs nu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #281,190 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.