negavsnetWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nega is a verb, net is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nega” is a verb and “net” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,117
“nega” frequency rank
#4,258
“net” frequency rank
9375
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nega net
Definition terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo negar não, nem

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nega and net apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
nega
3 ch
net

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nega is /ˈnɛ.ɡɐ/ while net is /net/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9375, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nega is recorded at frequency rank #5,117, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈnɛ.ɡɐ/. 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 9375, this pair ranks #64,083 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nega vs net

Shared letters: en. Private to "nega": ag. Private to "net": t.

"nega" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "net" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • negaenga · neag · negga · ngea · nnega

Frequency comparison

nega#5,117
net#4,258

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nega" and "net" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nega" is a verb and "net" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nega" or "net"?
"net" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,258 in our Portuguese list, against #5,117 for "nega". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nega vs net

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “nega”; for an adverb, it's “net”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nega” 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