nésvsnnWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nés is a adjective, nn is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nés” is an adjective and “nn” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,785
“nés” frequency rank
#24,303
“nn” frequency rank
29088
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nés nn
Definition Masculin pluriel de né. Ne pas.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nés and nn apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
nés
2 ch
nn

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nés is \ne\ while nn is \ˈnon\. 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 (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nés is recorded at frequency rank #4,785, classified as anadj, pronounced \ne\. nn is at rank #24,303, tagged as anadv, pronounced \ˈnon\.

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 29088, this pair ranks #318,812 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nés vs nn

Shared letters: n. Private to "nés": . Private to "nn": -.

"nés" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "nn" · 2 letters · shape CC

Frequency comparison

nés#4,785
nn#24,303

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nés" and "nn" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nés" is an adjective and "nn" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nés" or "nn"?
"nés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,785 in our French list, against #24,303 for "nn". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nés vs nn

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “nés”; for an adverb, it's “nn”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nés” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list