Which to use
“non” and “now” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #82
- “non” frequency rank
- #8,278
- “now” frequency rank
- 8360
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | non | now |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Réponse négative. Il marque le désaccord sur une question affirmative et l’accord sur une question négative. | Maintenant. |
Where the eye mixes non and now
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: non vs now
A purely visual mix-up. non (\nɔ̃\) and now (\ˈnaʊ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “non” becomes w in “now”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8360, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
non is recorded at frequency rank #82, classified as anadv, pronounced \nɔ̃\. now is at rank #8,278, tagged as anadv, pronounced \ˈnaʊ\.
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 8360, this pair ranks #420,300 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of non vs now
Shared letters: no. Private to "non": -. Private to "now": w.
"non" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "now" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "non" and "now" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "non" or "now" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "non" and "now" 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 "now" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #420,300 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "non" and "now" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nop vs now". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #420,300 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.