nu

\ny\

/\ny\/ adj

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

The verdict

“nu” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #3,697) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#3,697
frequency rank, French
1,563
“N” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui n’a pas de vêtements, qui est dévêtu.

Corpus desk

Index FR-nu · nu · French

nu · rank #3,697 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,697
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,563
  • PHOTO-FINISH miroir

Nearest frequency peer: miroir (-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 “nu”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “nu” 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).

nu vs ny
50% similar
nu vs nul
67% similar
nu vs nue
67% similar

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

Key facts for nu
PropertyValue
Headwordnu
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ny\
Letters2
Frequency rank#3,697
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “nu” 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). nu 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 nu is neighbouring look-alikes ("ny", "nul", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced \ny\. Frequency #3,697 among 1,563 “N” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for nu in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ny", "nul", "nue", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is nu, spelled N-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui n’a pas de vêtements, qui est dévêtu.
  2. 2
    Qui est dans le dénuement.
  3. 3
    Sans enveloppe, couverture ou ornement habituels.
  4. 4
    Dépouillé, sec, sans agrément.
  5. 5
    Qui est sans fard, sans déguisement.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Mes tempes battent ; toute ma chair va à cette femme presque nue et charmante dans le matin et dans le transparent vêtement qui enferme la douce odeur d’elle…
  2. Qu’on s’imagine nu le général, l’évêque, l’ambassadeur, l’académicien, le garde-chiourme, le garde-chasse ? Que resterait-il de leur prestige, de leur délégation d’autorité ?

Synonyms

à loipà loilpéà oualpéà poildans le plus simple appareildéshabillédévêtuen costume d’Adamen costume d’Èvein naturalibusdégarni

This word in other languages

bare(English)desnudo(Español)bloß(Deutsch)despido(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 "nu"?
"nu" is spelled N-U. The IPA pronunciation is \ny\.
What does "nu" mean?
As an adjective, "nu" means: Qui n’a pas de vêtements, qui est dévêtu.
What words are commonly confused with "nu"?
"nu" is commonly confused with "ny", "nul", "nue". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nu"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nu" is \ny\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nu" come from?
"nu" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

What to do next

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

  • "nu" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ny". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #3,697 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "N" letter cohort. N–Z browse

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