Which to use
“nun” and “nunca” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,280
- “nun” frequency rank
- #110
- “nunca” frequency rank
- 39390
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nun | nunca |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | agora, neste momento: | em nenhum tempo; jamais |
Where the eye mixes nun and nunca
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. nun runs 3 letters (CVC) against nunca's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: nun vs nunca
A purely visual mix-up. nun (/ˈnuːn/) and nunca (/ˈnũ.kɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “nun” sits inside “nunca”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39390, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nun is recorded at frequency rank #39,280, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈnuːn/. nunca is at rank #110, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈnũ.kɐ/.
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 39390, this pair ranks #26,881 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nun vs nunca
Shared letters: nu. Private to "nun": -. Private to "nunca": ac.
"nun" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "nunca" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- nunca ← nnuca · nnunca · nucna · nunac · nuncca · nunnca · unnca
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nun" and "nunca" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "nun" vs "nunca" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nun" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nunca" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #26,881 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nun" and "nunca" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "noon 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 #26,881 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.