non

\nɔ̃\

/\nɔ̃\/ adv

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

The verdict

“non” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #82) as an adverb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#82
frequency rank, French
1,563
“N” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Réponse négative. Il marque le désaccord sur une question affirmative et l’accord sur une question négative.

Corpus desk

Index FR-non · non · French

non · rank #82 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #82
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,563
  • PHOTO-FINISH avoir

Nearest frequency peer: avoir (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “non”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “non” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

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

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

Key facts for non
PropertyValue
Headwordnon
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\nɔ̃\
Letters3
Frequency rank#82
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “non” 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). non lands here:

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

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for non is neighbouring look-alikes ("nu", "ny", …), not just typos; it is anadverb pronounced \nɔ̃\. Frequency #82 among 1,563 “N” headwords. 8 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for non in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "nu", "ny", "NS", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is non, spelled N-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Réponse négative. Il marque le désaccord sur une question affirmative et l’accord sur une question négative.
  2. 2
    Au contraire.
  3. 3
    Qui n’est pas. Manque de la qualité signifiée par l’adjectif suivant.
  4. 4
    Adverbe de phrase employé plutôt que ne ou ne … pas, ceux-ci étant plus propres à nier seulement le verbe ou le groupe verbal.
  5. 5
    Au début d’une phrase négative, il en accentue le caractère.
  6. 6
    Sert, soit seul, soit avec pas, à opposer une négation à une affirmation.
  7. 7
    Il sert encore à infirmer, à nier fortement ce qui est exprimé par un des termes de la proposition.
  8. 8
    N’est-ce pas ?

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how non appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Tu es français, du coup ? — Non, je suis québécois.
  2. Vous ne voyagez pas souvent ? — Non, par manque de temps.

Synonyms

nannietnégatifnopepas questionpashan han

Antonyms

ouaisouiaffirmatif

This word in other languages

no(English)no(Español)nein(Deutsch)não(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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "non"?
"non" is spelled N-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \nɔ̃\.
What does "non" mean?
As an adverb, "non" means: Réponse négative. Il marque le désaccord sur une question affirmative et l’accord sur une question négative.
What words are commonly confused with "non"?
"non" 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 "non"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "non" is \nɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "non" come from?
"non" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "non", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ans#90ces#74moi#73peu#95

What to do next

You've looked up "non". Here's where to go from here.

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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