neivsnoiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nei is a verb, noi is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nei” is a verb and “noi” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,191
“nei” frequency rank
#36,563
“noi” frequency rank
63754
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nei noi
Definition negar nós

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
nei
3 ch
noi

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: nei is averb and noiapronoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - e in “nei” becomes o in “noi”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63754, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nei is recorded at frequency rank #27,191, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈnɛ.i/.. noi is at rank #36,563, tagged as apron.

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 63754, this pair ranks #6,060 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of nei vs noi

Shared letters: in. Private to "nei": e. Private to "noi": o.

"nei" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "noi" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

nei#27,191
noi#36,563

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nei" and "noi" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nei" is a verb and "noi" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nei" or "noi"?
"nei" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,191 in our Portuguese list, against #36,563 for "noi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nei vs noi

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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