Which to use
“nb” is an adjective and “ni” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,006
- “nb” frequency rank
- #274
- “ni” frequency rank
- 12280
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nb | ni |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante orthographique de NB, sigle de non binaire. | Conjonction de coordination négative qui correspond à et affirmatif. |
Where the eye mixes nb and ni
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: nb vs ni
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nb is \ɛn.be\ while ni is \ni\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “nb” becomes i in “ni”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs conjunction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nb is recorded at frequency rank #12,006, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛn.be\. ni is at rank #274, tagged as aconj, pronounced \ni\.
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 12280, this pair ranks #405,900 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nb vs ni
Shared letters: n. Private to "nb": b. Private to "ni": i.
"nb" · 2 letters · shape CC · "ni" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nb" and "ni" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "nb" or "ni" show up more?
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 "nb" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ni" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #405,900 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nb" and "ni" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nb vs nop". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #405,900 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.