nousvsnunWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nous is a adjective, nun is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nous” is an adjective and “nun” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,848
“nous” frequency rank
#37,753
“nun” frequency rank
76601
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nous nun
Definition Forma del masculino plural de nou. Decimocuarta letra del alfabeto hebreo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nous and nun apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
nous
3 ch
nun

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nous is [ˈnows] while nun is [ˈnũn]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76601, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nous is recorded at frequency rank #38,848, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnows]. nun is at rank #37,753, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnũn].

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 76601, this pair ranks #17,436 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of nous vs nun

Shared letters: nu. Private to "nous": os. Private to "nun": -.

"nous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "nun" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nousnnous · nosu · nouss · onus

Frequency comparison

nous#38,848
nun#37,753

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nous" and "nun" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nous" is an adjective and "nun" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nous" or "nun"?
"nun" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,753 in our Spanish list, against #38,848 for "nous". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nous vs nun

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “nous”; for a noun, it's “nun”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nous” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list