Which to use
“not” is an adverb and “nou” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,708
- “not” frequency rank
- #19,508
- “nou” frequency rank
- 26216
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | not | nou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | No. | Nuevo |
Where the eye mixes not and nou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: not vs nou
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: not is /nɒt/ while nou is [ˈnow]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - t in “not” becomes u in “nou”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26216, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
not is recorded at frequency rank #6,708, classified as anadv, pronounced /nɒt/. 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 26216, this pair ranks #232,732 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of not vs nou
Shared letters: no. Private to "not": t. Private to "nou": u.
"not" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "nou" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "not" and "nou" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "not" vs "nou" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "not" 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 #232,732 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "not" and "nou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nou vs nox". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #232,732 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.