Which to use
“nay” is a noun and “nis” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,316
- “nay” frequency rank
- #49,821
- “nis” frequency rank
- 96137
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nay | nis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante orthographique de ney | Participe actif présent du verbe ní (« se déplacer »). |
Where the eye mixes nay and nis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. nay (CVV) and nis (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses nay with nis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nay is \ne\ while nis is \nis\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96137, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nay is recorded at frequency rank #46,316, classified as anoun, pronounced \ne\. nis is at rank #49,821, tagged as averb, pronounced \nis\.
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 96137, this pair ranks #781 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of nay vs nis
Shared letters: n. Private to "nay": ay. Private to "nis": is.
"nay" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "nis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nay" and "nis" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "nay" vs "nis" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nay" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #781 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nay" and "nis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nis vs nop". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #781 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.