Which to use
“ng” is a character and “nis” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,276
- “ng” frequency rank
- #49,821
- “nis” frequency rank
- 80097
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ng | nis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dix-huitième lettre de l’alphabet guarani (minuscule). | Participe actif présent du verbe ní (« se déplacer »). |
Where the eye mixes ng and nis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. ng runs 2 letters (CC) against nis's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ng with nis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ng is \ᵑɡ\ while nis is \nis\. 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 (character vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80097, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ng is recorded at frequency rank #30,276, classified as acharacter, pronounced \ᵑɡ\. nis is at rank #49,821, tagged as averb, pronounced \nis\.
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 80097, this pair ranks #21,744 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ng vs nis
Shared letters: n. Private to "ng": g. Private to "nis": is.
"ng" · 2 letters · shape CC · "nis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ng" for "nis" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ng" vs "nis" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ng" and "nis" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ng" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,744 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ng" and "nis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nis vs nop". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #21,744 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.