Which to use
“nu” and “nuls” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,697
- “nu” frequency rank
- #6,533
- “nuls” frequency rank
- 10230
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nu | nuls |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui n’a pas de vêtements, qui est dévêtu. | Masculin pluriel de nul. |
Where the eye mixes nu and nuls
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: nu vs nuls
A purely visual mix-up. nu (\ny\) and nuls (\nyl\) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “nu” sits inside “nuls”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10230, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nu is recorded at frequency rank #3,697, classified as anadj, pronounced \ny\. nuls is at rank #6,533, 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 10230, this pair ranks #413,750 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nu vs nuls
Shared letters: nu. Private to "nu": -. Private to "nuls": ls.
"nu" · 2 letters · shape CV · "nuls" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nuls ← nlus · nnuls · nulls · nulss · nusl · unls
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nu" and "nuls" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "nu" or "nuls"?
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 "nu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nuls" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #413,750 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nu" and "nuls" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "noués vs nuls". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #413,750 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.