nbsp vs NSA, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“nbsp” is a noun and “NSA” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,084
“nbsp” frequency rank: #13,019
“NSA” frequency rank: 45103
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	nbsp	NSA
Definition	Espace insécable.	« Agence de sécurité nationale » américaine.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nbsp and NSA apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

nbsp

3 ch

NSA

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nbsp is \ˌɛn.ˌbi.ˌɛs.ˈpi\ while NSA is \ɛn.ɛs.a\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45103, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nbsp is recorded at frequency rank #32,084, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˌɛn.ˌbi.ˌɛs.ˈpi\. NSA is at rank #13,019, tagged as aname, pronounced \ɛn.ɛs.a\.

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 45103, this pair ranks #205,383 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nbsp vs NSA

Shared letters: ns. Private to "nbsp": bp. Private to "NSA": a.

"nbsp" · 4 letters · shape CCCC · "NSA" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Known mistypes of this pair

nbsp ← bnsp · nbbsp · nbps · nbspp · nbssp · nnbsp · nsbp

Frequency comparison

nbsp#32,084

NSA#13,019

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nbsp" and "NSA" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nbsp" is a noun and "NSA" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "nbsp" or "NSA"?

"NSA" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,019 in our French list, against #32,084 for "nbsp". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nbsp vs NSA

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “nbsp”; for a name, it's “NSA”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nbsp” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable