nãovsnetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11
“não” frequency rank
#4,258
“net” frequency rank
4269
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature não net
Definition usado para negar verbos e adjetivos não, nem

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set não and net apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
não
3 ch
net

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. não (/ˈnɐ̃w̃/) and net (/net/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4269, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

não is recorded at frequency rank #11, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈnɐ̃w̃/. net is at rank #4,258, tagged as anadv, pronounced /net/.

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 4269, this pair ranks #70,690 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of não vs net

Shared letters: n. Private to "não": . Private to "net": et.

"não" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "net" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

não#11
net#4,258

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "não" and "net" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈnɐ̃w̃/ versus /net/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "não" or "net"?
"não" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11 in our Portuguese list, against #4,258 for "net". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering não vs net

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “não” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list