nadvsnasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nad is a preposition, nas is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nad” is a preposition and “nas” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,954
“nad” frequency rank
#74
“nas” frequency rank
34028
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nad nas
Definition em cima, acima de caso genitivo do pronome pessoal my

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nad and nas apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
nad
3 ch
nas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: nad is apreposition and nasapronoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - d in “nad” becomes s in “nas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34028, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nad is recorded at frequency rank #33,954, classified as aprep, pronounced /ˈnat/ ouvir^(fonte ?). nas is at rank #74, tagged as apron.

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 34028, this pair ranks #33,345 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nad vs nas

Shared letters: an. Private to "nad": d. Private to "nas": s.

"nad" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "nas" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

nad#33,954
nas#74

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nad" and "nas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nad" is a preposition and "nas" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nad" or "nas"?
"nas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #74 in our Portuguese list, against #33,954 for "nad". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering nad vs nas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “nad”; for a pronoun, it's “nas”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nad” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list