namvsnoiConfusable pair

Which to use

“nam” and “noi” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,396
“nam” frequency rank
#36,563
“noi” frequency rank
54959
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nam noi
Definition caso dativo do pronome pessoal my nós

Letter map: nam vs noi

Shared letters muted; letters that set nam and noi apart highlighted. Shared run: 1. nam (CVC) and noi (CVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch
nam
3 ch
noi

Corpus notes: nam and noi

nam and noi are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54959, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nam is recorded at frequency rank #18,396, classified as apron. noi is at rank #36,563, 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 54959, this pair ranks #10,902 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of nam vs noi

Shared letters: n. Private to "nam": am. Private to "noi": io.

"nam" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "noi" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "nam" for "noi" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "nam" vs "noi" - which ranks higher?
"nam" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,396 in our Portuguese list, against #36,563 for "noi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "nam" and "noi".

  • Full dictionary entry for "nam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "noi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #10,902 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nam" and "noi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "noi vs noon". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #10,902 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list