nisvsnoixWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nis is a verb, noix is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#49,821
“nis” frequency rank
#6,719
“noix” frequency rank
56540
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nis noix
Definition Participe actif présent du verbe ní (« se déplacer »). Fruit charnu produit par le noyer (Juglans). C’est une drupe composée d’une écale non consommable, le brou (mésocarpe) et d’un noyau qui, une fois lignifié, en constitue la coque (endocarpe).

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
nis
4 ch
noix

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nis is \nis\ while noix is \nwa\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nis is recorded at frequency rank #49,821, classified as averb, pronounced \nis\. noix is at rank #6,719, tagged as anoun, pronounced \nwa\.

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 56540, this pair ranks #120,478 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nis vs noix

Shared letters: in. Private to "nis": s. Private to "noix": ox.

"nis" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "noix" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • noixniox · nnoix · noixx · noxi · onix

Frequency comparison

nis#49,821
noix#6,719

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nis" and "noix" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nis" is a verb and "noix" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nis" or "noix"?
"noix" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,719 in our French list, against #49,821 for "nis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nis vs noix

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list