Which to use
“Not” is a noun and “nul” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,001
- “Not” frequency rank
- #1,417
- “nul” frequency rank
- 7418
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Not | nul |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Manque, besoin. | Égal à zéro, en parlant d’un nombre, d’une grandeur ou d’une valeur. |
Where the eye mixes Not and nul
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Not vs nul
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Not is \noːt\ while nul is \nyl\. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Not is recorded at frequency rank #6,001, classified as anoun, pronounced \noːt\. nul is at rank #1,417, tagged as anadj, pronounced \nyl\.
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 7418, this pair ranks #423,233 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Not vs nul
Shared letters: n. Private to "Not": ot. Private to "nul": lu.
"Not" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "nul" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Not" for "nul" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Not" or "nul"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Not" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nul" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #423,233 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Not" and "nul" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nop vs Not". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #423,233 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.