ni vs nis, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ni” is a conjunction and “nis” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#274
“ni” frequency rank: #49,821
“nis” frequency rank: 50095
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ni	nis
Definition	Conjonction de coordination négative qui correspond à et affirmatif.	Participe actif présent du verbe ní (« se déplacer »).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ni and nis apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch

3 ch

nis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ni is \ni\ while nis is \nis\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ni” sits inside “nis”, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ni is recorded at frequency rank #274, classified as aconj, pronounced \ni\. 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 50095, this pair ranks #165,354 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ni vs nis

Shared letters: in. Private to "ni": -. Private to "nis": s.

"ni" · 2 letters · shape CV · "nis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

ni#274

nis#49,821

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ni" and "nis" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ni" is a conjunction and "nis" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "ni" or "nis"?

"ni" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #274 in our French list, against #49,821 for "nis". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering ni vs nis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a conjunction, it's “ni”; for a verb, it's “nis”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ni” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable