nu
French, noun/ny/
nu is spelled N-U (2 letters) and appears 21 times per million words in written French, the 3,674th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Nu is a French masculine noun meaning “nude” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Figure féminine non drapées. Pour un homme on parle plutôt d’académie”.
What does nu mean in English?
adjective
- 1
naked; nude; bare
à mains nues
noun
- 1
masculinenude
noun
- 1
masculinenu (Greek letter)
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Qui n’a pas de vêtements, qui est dévêtu. 2. Qui est dans le dénuement. 3. Sans enveloppe, couverture ou ornement habituels. 4. Dépouillé, sec, sans agrément.
noun: 1. Figure féminine non drapées. Pour un homme on parle plutôt d’académie. 2. Parties des figures que les draperies recouvrent, mais sans empêcher de voir le corps : 3. Partie dévoilée du corps. 4. La nudité.
noun: 1. ν, Ν, treizième lettre et neuvième consonne de l’alphabet grec.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of nu
- nue feminine
- nus masculine plural
- nues feminine plural
- nud dated obsolete
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce nu?
- /ny/
- \ny\
- [nʷy]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to nu
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is nu in French?
nu appears 21 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).