Which to use
“neue” is an adjective and “nez” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,599
- “neue” frequency rank
- #1,827
- “nez” frequency rank
- 46426
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | neue | nez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Accusatif pluriel (à tous les genres) de la déclinaison forte de neu. | Partie saillante du visage entre la bouche et le front couvrant l’organe communiquant avec les poumons permettant de sentir et de respirer. |
Where the eye mixes neue and nez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses neue with nez
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: neue is \ˈnɔɪ̯ə\ while nez is \ne\. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
neue is recorded at frequency rank #44,599, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈnɔɪ̯ə\. nez is at rank #1,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ne\.
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 46426, this pair ranks #195,035 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of neue vs nez
Shared letters: en. Private to "neue": u. Private to "nez": z.
"neue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "nez" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- neue ← enue · neeu · nneue
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "neue" for "nez" ever safe?
Frequency check: "neue" vs "nez" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "neue" and "nez" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "neue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #195,035 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "neue" and "nez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "neue vs noués". 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 #195,035 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.