noivsnosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“noi” and “nos” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#36,563
“noi” frequency rank
#42
“nos” frequency rank
36605
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature noi nos
Definition nós a nós

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
noi
3 ch
nos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

noi and nos are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - i in “noi” becomes s in “nos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

noi is recorded at frequency rank #36,563, classified as apron. nos is at rank #42, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈnuʃ/.

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 36605, this pair ranks #30,149 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of noi vs nos

Shared letters: no. Private to "noi": i. Private to "nos": s.

"noi" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "nos" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

noi#36,563
nos#42

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "noi" and "nos" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by a single letter - i in “noi” becomes s in “nos”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "noi" or "nos"?
"nos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42 in our Portuguese list, against #36,563 for "noi". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering noi vs nos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “noi” 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