Which to use
“now” is an adverb and “nus” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,278
- “now” frequency rank
- #7,091
- “nus” frequency rank
- 15369
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | now | nus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Maintenant. | Masculin pluriel de nu. |
Where the eye mixes now and nus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses now with nus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: now is \ˈnaʊ\ while nus is \ny\. 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 (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
now is recorded at frequency rank #8,278, classified as anadv, pronounced \ˈnaʊ\. nus is at rank #7,091, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ny\.
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 15369, this pair ranks #392,667 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of now vs nus
Shared letters: n. Private to "now": ow. Private to "nus": su.
"now" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "nus" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "now" for "nus" ever safe?
Which is more common, "now" or "nus"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "now" and "nus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "now" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #392,667 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "now" and "nus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nop vs now". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #392,667 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.