namvsnonWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nam is a pronoun, non is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nam” is a pronoun and “non” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,396
“nam” frequency rank
#6,793
“non” frequency rank
25189
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nam non
Definition caso dativo do pronome pessoal my não

Letter map: nam vs non

Shared letters muted; letters that set nam and non apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
nam
3 ch
non

Role in the sentence - nam and non

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: nam is apronoun and nonanadverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25189, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nam is recorded at frequency rank #18,396, classified as apron. non is at rank #6,793, tagged as anadv.

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 25189, this pair ranks #44,181 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nam vs non

Shared letters: n. Private to "nam": am. Private to "non": o.

"nam" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "non" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "nam" and "non" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nam" is a pronoun and "non" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "nam" vs "non" - which ranks higher?
"non" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,793 in our Portuguese list, against #18,396 for "nam". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "nam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "non" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #44,181 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nam" and "non" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nam vs nami". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #44,181 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