noivsnurWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#36,563
“noi” frequency rank
#35,702
“nur” frequency rank
72265
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature noi nur
Definition nós apenas, somente, meramente

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
noi
3 ch
nur

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: noi is apronoun and nuranadverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72265, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

noi is recorded at frequency rank #36,563, 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 72265, this pair ranks #3,108 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of noi vs nur

Shared letters: n. Private to "noi": io. Private to "nur": ru.

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

Frequency comparison

noi#36,563
nur#35,702

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "noi" and "nur" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "noi" is a pronoun and "nur" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "noi" or "nur"?
"nur" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,702 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 noi vs nur

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “noi”; for an adverb, it's “nur”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list