nivsnurWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ni is a pronoun, nur is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ni” is a pronoun and “nur” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,234
“ni” frequency rank
#35,702
“nur” frequency rank
43936
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ni nur
Definition nós, pronome da segunda pessoa do plural apenas, somente, meramente

Where the spellings diverge

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

2 ch
ni
3 ch
nur

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ni is apronoun and nuranadverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43936, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ni is recorded at frequency rank #8,234, classified as apron. nur is at rank #35,702, tagged as anadv, pronounced /nuːɐ̯/.

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 43936, this pair ranks #21,631 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ni vs nur

Shared letters: n. Private to "ni": i. Private to "nur": ru.

"ni" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "nur" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

ni#8,234
nur#35,702

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ni" and "nur" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ni" is a pronoun and "nur" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ni" or "nur"?
"ni" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,234 in our Portuguese list, against #35,702 for "nur". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ni vs nur

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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