noivsnuConfusable pair

Quick tell: noi is a pronoun, nu is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“noi” is a pronoun and “nu” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,471
“noi” frequency rank
#15,177
“nu” frequency rank
60648
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature noi nu
Definition Nosotros Desnudo.

Where the eye mixes noi and nu

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
noi
2 ch
nu

Visual trap between noi and nu

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: noi is /ˈnoj/ while nu is [ny]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60648, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

noi is recorded at frequency rank #45,471, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈnoj/. 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 60648, this pair ranks #58,220 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of noi vs nu

Shared letters: n. Private to "noi": io. Private to "nu": u.

"noi" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "nu" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "noi" and "nu" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "noi" is a pronoun and "nu" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "noi" vs "nu" - which ranks higher?
"nu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,177 in our Spanish list, against #45,471 for "noi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "noi" 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 #58,220 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "noi" and "nu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "noi vs nox". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #58,220 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