Which to use
“nay” is an adverb and “nei” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,276
- “nay” frequency rank
- #27,191
- “nei” frequency rank
- 57467
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nay | nei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | não | negar |
Letter map: nay vs nei
Shared letters muted; letters that set nay and nei apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - nay and nei
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: nay is anadverb and neiaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nay is recorded at frequency rank #30,276, classified as anadv. nei is at rank #27,191, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈnɛ.i/..
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 57467, this pair ranks #9,319 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of nay vs nei
Shared letters: n. Private to "nay": ay. Private to "nei": ei.
"nay" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "nei" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nay" for "nei" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "nay" or "nei" show up more?
Useful next steps
You've compared "nay" and "nei". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "nay" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #9,319 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nay" and "nei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nami vs nay". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #9,319 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.