Which to use
“new” and “nus” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #742
- “new” frequency rank
- #7,091
- “nus” frequency rank
- 7833
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | new | nus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nouveau, récemment apparu. | Masculin pluriel de nu. |
Where the eye mixes new and nus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: new vs nus
A purely visual mix-up. new (\ˈnu\) and nus (\ny\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7833, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
new is recorded at frequency rank #742, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈnu\. nus is at rank #7,091, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ny\.
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 7833, this pair ranks #421,991 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of new vs nus
Shared letters: n. Private to "new": ew. Private to "nus": su.
"new" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "nus" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "new" for "nus" ever safe?
Which is more common, "new" or "nus"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "new" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,991 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "new" and "nus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "noués vs nus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #421,991 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.