Which to use
“nice” is an adjective and “nique” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,962
- “nice” frequency rank
- #7,999
- “nique” frequency rank
- 9961
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nice | nique |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est simple, candide, innocent. | Geste fait en signe de mépris ou de moquerie. Il ne s’emploie que dans la locution faire la nique (à quelqu’un). |
Where the eye mixes nice and nique
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses nice with nique
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nice is \nis\ while nique is \nik\. 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 9961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nice is recorded at frequency rank #1,962, classified as anadj, pronounced \nis\. nique is at rank #7,999, tagged as anoun, pronounced \nik\.
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 9961, this pair ranks #414,772 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nice vs nique
Shared letters: ein. Private to "nice": c. Private to "nique": qu.
"nice" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "nique" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nice" and "nique" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "nice" vs "nique" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "nice" and "nique" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "nice" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nique" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #414,772 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nice" and "nique" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "neue vs nique". 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 #414,772 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.