nãovsnnWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11
“não” frequency rank
#37,935
“nn” frequency rank
37946
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature não nn
Definition usado para negar verbos e adjetivos não

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
não
2 ch
nn

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

não and nn 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37946, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

não is recorded at frequency rank #11, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈnɐ̃w̃/. nn is at rank #37,935, 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 37946, this pair ranks #28,592 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of não vs nn

Shared letters: n. Private to "não": . Private to "nn": -.

"não" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "nn" · 2 letters · shape CC

Frequency comparison

não#11
nn#37,935

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "não" and "nn" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "não" or "nn"?
"não" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11 in our Portuguese list, against #37,935 for "nn". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering não vs nn

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