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 eye mixes nbsp and NSA
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. nbsp runs 4 letters (CCCC) against NSA's 3 (CCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between nbsp and NSA
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nbsp" for "NSA" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "nbsp" or "NSA" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "nbsp" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "NSA" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #205,383 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nbsp" and "NSA" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nbsp vs nop". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #205,383 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.