nisvsnozWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#49,821
“nis” frequency rank
#38,450
“noz” frequency rank
88271
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nis noz
Definition Participe actif présent du verbe ní (« se déplacer »). Nuit.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nis and noz apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
nis
3 ch
noz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nis is \nis\ while noz is \ˈnoːs\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88271, 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\. noz is at rank #38,450, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈnoːs\.

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 88271, this pair ranks #7,213 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of nis vs noz

Shared letters: n. Private to "nis": is. Private to "noz": oz.

"nis" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "noz" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

nis#49,821
noz#38,450

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nis" and "noz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nis" is a verb and "noz" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nis" or "noz"?
"noz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,450 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 noz

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 “noz”.
  • 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