Which to use
“non” is an adverb and “nos” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #82
- “non” frequency rank
- #147
- “nos” frequency rank
- 229
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | non | nos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Réponse négative. Il marque le désaccord sur une question affirmative et l’accord sur une question négative. | Première personne du pluriel. Qui sont à nous. Plusieurs possesseurs et plusieurs objets. |
Where the eye mixes non and nos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses non with nos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: non is \nɔ̃\ while nos is \no\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “non” becomes s in “nos”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 229, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
non is recorded at frequency rank #82, classified as anadv, pronounced \nɔ̃\. nos is at rank #147, tagged as adet, pronounced \no\.
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 229, this pair ranks #439,937 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of non vs nos
Shared letters: no. Private to "non": -. Private to "nos": s.
"non" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "nos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "non" and "nos" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "non" or "nos" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "non" and "nos" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "non" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #439,937 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "non" and "nos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nos vs noués". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #439,937 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.