null vs num, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#42,573
“null” frequency rank: #234
“num” frequency rank: 42807
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	null	num
Definition	o número zero	o mesmo que não

Letter map: null vs num

Shared letters muted; letters that set null and num apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch

null

3 ch

num

Grammar separator: null vs num

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: null is anum and numanadverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42807, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

null is recorded at frequency rank #42,573, classified as anum, pronounced /nʊl/ ouvir^(fonte ?). num is at rank #234, tagged as anadv.

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 42807, this pair ranks #22,913 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of null vs num

Shared letters: nu. Private to "null": l. Private to "num": m.

"null" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "num" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

null ← nlul · nnull · nul · unll

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "null" for "num" ever safe?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "null" is a num and "num" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Frequency check: "null" vs "num" - which ranks higher?

"num" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #234 in our Portuguese list, against #42,573 for "null". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pair "null" vs "num" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

Full dictionary entry for "null" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "num" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #22,913 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"null" and "num" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "null vs nun". 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 #22,913 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.