Which to use
“nées” is an adjective and “nous” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,206
- “nées” frequency rank
- #50
- “nous” frequency rank
- 12256
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nées | nous |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de né. | Pronom de la première personne du pluriel, incluant le locuteur ainsi que d’autres personnes au nom de qui il parle, utilisable en sujet, en complément d’objet, ou en tant que pronom tonique pour marquer l’insistance sur la personne. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nées and nous apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nées is \ne\ while nous is \nu\. 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 (adjective vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12256, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nées is recorded at frequency rank #12,206, classified as anadj, pronounced \ne\. nous is at rank #50, tagged as apron, pronounced \nu\.
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 12256, this pair ranks #405,996 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nées vs nous
Shared letters: ns. Private to "nées": eé. Private to "nous": ou.
"nées" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "nous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nous ← nnous · nosu · nouss · nuos · onus
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nées" and "nous" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "nées" or "nous"?
Remembering nées vs nous
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “nées”; for a pronoun, it's “nous”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nées” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable