Which to use
“nono” is an adjective and “nous” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,415
- “nono” frequency rank
- #31,892
- “nous” frequency rank
- 46307
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nono | nous |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | refere-se àquele que ocupa a posição nove em uma série; o que vem depois do oitavo | nós, nos, pronome pessoal da primeira pessoa do plural. |
Where the eye mixes nono and nous
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. nono (CVCV) and nous (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between nono and nous
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nono is /ˈno.nu/ while nous is /nu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46307, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nono is recorded at frequency rank #14,415, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈno.nu/. nous is at rank #31,892, tagged as apron, pronounced /nu/.
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 46307, this pair ranks #19,028 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of nono vs nous
Shared letters: no. Private to "nono": -. Private to "nous": su.
"nono" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "nous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nono" and "nous" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "nono" or "nous" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nono" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nous" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #19,028 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nono" and "nous" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "noon vs nous". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #19,028 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.