novsnunWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: no is a pronoun, nun is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“no” is a pronoun and “nun” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15
“no” frequency rank
#39,280
“nun” frequency rank
39295
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature no nun
Definition forma enclítica do pronome o quando precedido de forma verbal terminada em som nasal agora, neste momento:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set no and nun apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
no
3 ch
nun

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

no and nun form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39295, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

no is recorded at frequency rank #15, classified as apron. nun is at rank #39,280, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈnuːn/.

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 39295, this pair ranks #27,000 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

no#15
nun#39,280

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "no" and "nun" be used interchangeably?
No, "no" and "nun" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering no vs nun

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “no”; for an adverb, it's “nun”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “no” 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