Which to use
“ni” is a conjunction and “nu” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #274
- “ni” frequency rank
- #3,697
- “nu” frequency rank
- 3971
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ni | nu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Conjonction de coordination négative qui correspond à et affirmatif. | Qui n’a pas de vêtements, qui est dévêtu. |
Where the eye mixes ni and nu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ni and nu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ni is \ni\ while nu is \ny\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “ni” becomes u in “nu”, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3971, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ni is recorded at frequency rank #274, classified as aconj, pronounced \ni\. nu is at rank #3,697, 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 3971, this pair ranks #432,765 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ni vs nu
Shared letters: n. Private to "ni": i. Private to "nu": u.
"ni" · 2 letters · shape CV · "nu" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ni" and "nu" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ni" vs "nu" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ni" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #432,765 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ni" and "nu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nop vs nu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #432,765 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.