nom

\nɔ̃\

/\nɔ̃\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“nom” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #214 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#214
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mot ou groupe de mots permettant de nommer un être ou une chose. Un nom peut être un nom commun, une locution nominale ou un nom propre.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

nom vs nu
33% similar
nom vs ny
33% similar
nom vs NS
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for nom
PropertyValue
Headwordnom
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\nɔ̃\
Letters3
Frequency rank#214
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “nom” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). nom lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for nom is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \nɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #214 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Zero misspellings are on record for nom in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "nu", "ny", "NS", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is nom, spelled N-O-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mot ou groupe de mots permettant de nommer un être ou une chose. Un nom peut être un nom commun, une locution nominale ou un nom propre.
  2. 2
    Nom de famille, partie du nom d’une personne transmis de parents à enfant.
  3. 3
    Pseudonyme.
  4. 4
    Mot désignant un être, une chose ou un concept qui peut se combiner avec un adjectif et un déterminant. Souvent y compris les noms propres.
  5. 5
    Nom ou adjectif dans les langues européennes, qui s’appelait respectivement un nom substantif et un nom adjectif.
  6. 6
    Naissance illustre, noblesse, maison noble.
  7. 7
    Qualification, épithète.
  8. 8
    Qualité, titre.
  9. 9
    Réputation, célébrité.
  10. 10
    Mot par opposition à la chose, apparence par opposition à la réalité.
  11. 11
    Suivi de « de » et de certaines expressions, est employé trivialement comme juron.

Synonyms

substantif

This word in other languages

name(English)nombre(Español)Name(Deutsch)nome(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nom"?
"nom" is spelled N-O-M. The IPA pronunciation is \nɔ̃\.
What does "nom" mean?
As a noun, "nom" means: Mot ou groupe de mots permettant de nommer un être ou une chose. Un nom peut être un nom commun, une locution nominale ou un nom propre.
What words are commonly confused with "nom"?
"nom" is commonly confused with "nu", "ny", "NS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nom"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nom" is \nɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nom" come from?
"nom" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “nom”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is N-O-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \nɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “nu” - see the side-by-side comparison. nom vs nu
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

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