Which to use
“no” is a noun and “non” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,447
- “no” frequency rank
- #82
- “non” frequency rank
- 1529
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | no | non |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Non par un anglophone ou par un pays anglophone. | Réponse négative. Il marque le désaccord sur une question affirmative et l’accord sur une question négative. |
Where the eye mixes no and non
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between no and non
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: no is \no\ while non is \nɔ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “no” sits inside “non”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1529, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
no is recorded at frequency rank #1,447, classified as anoun, pronounced \no\. non is at rank #82, tagged as anadv, pronounced \nɔ̃\.
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 1529, this pair ranks #437,890 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of no vs non
Shared letters: no. Private to "no": -. Private to "non": -.
"no" · 2 letters · shape CV · "non" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "no" for "non" ever safe?
Frequency check: "no" vs "non" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "no" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "non" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #437,890 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "no" and "non" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "no vs nop". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #437,890 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.