---
title: nu — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «nu» in the school dictionary: The 13th letter of the Greek alphabet, written Ν (capital) and ν (small); it sounds like English «n». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nu/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [N](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/) / nu

# nu

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Ν, letter, word, Nu, Greek letter, small letter nu · **What happens:** write, sound, letter, mean, come on, hear · **To what, where:** 13th letter, n, Greek alphabet, word, English, Greek letter · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«nu» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [nu in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/nu.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The 13th letter of the Greek alphabet, written Ν (capital) and ν (small); it sounds like English «n».

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nu:m1:1
# text = The 13th letter of the Greek alphabet, written Ν (capital) and ν (small); it sounds like English «n».
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	13th	13th	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Combi|NumType=Ord	3	amod	_	_
3	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	Greek	Greek	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	alphabet	alphabet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	written	write	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
10	Ν	Ν	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	obl:agent	_	_
11	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	capital	capital	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	12	punct	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	ν	ν	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
16	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	21	punct	_	_
20	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	21	nsubj	_	_
21	sounds	sound	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	parataxis	_	_
22	like	like	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
23	English	English	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	21	obl	_	_
24	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	25	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	n	n	NOUN	NN	_	21	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	25	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | participle · passive | Ν and ν | the 13th letter of the Greek alphabet |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Theme |
| 2 | **sound** | present | letter | n |  |  |  | like English | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |
| 3 | **letter** |  |  | the Greek alphabet |  |  |  |  | nom letter «communication transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: Yiddish, informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A word meaning «well?», «so?» or «come on», heard in some Jewish families' English.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nu:m2:1
# text = A word meaning «well?», «so?» or «come on», heard in some Jewish families' English.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	meaning	mean	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	acl	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	well	well	INTJ	UH	_	3	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
9	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	so	so	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
16	on	on	ADP	RP	_	15	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
19	heard	hear	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
20	in	in	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
21	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	23	det	_	_
22	Jewish	Jewish	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	amod	_	_
23	families	family	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	25	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	'	's	PART	POS	_	23	case	_	_
25	English	English	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | gerund | a word *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **come on** *in a quote* | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **hear** | participle |  | a word *not said here* |  | some Jewish families's English |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Experiencer |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sometimes a playful spelling of «new» in brand names («nu-look»).

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nu:m3:1
# text = Sometimes a playful spelling of «new» in brand names («nu-look»).
1	Sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	7	advmod	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	playful	playful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	spelling	spelling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	brand	brand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	names	name	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
12	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	nu	nu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	look	look	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nu is the Greek letter that comes after mu.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nu:x1:1
# text = Nu is the Greek letter that comes after mu.
1	Nu	nu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	Greek	Greek	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	comes	come	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	after	after	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	mu	mu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Nu | the Greek letter |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **come** | present | the Greek letter |  |  |  | after mu |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The small letter nu looks like a v.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nu:x2:1
# text = The small letter nu looks like a v.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	nu	nu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	looks	look	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	like	like	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	v.	v.	X	NN	_	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | present | the small letter nu |  |  |  |  | like a v. | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In physics, nu can stand for frequency.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nu:x3:1
# text = In physics, nu can stand for frequency.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	physics	physic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	nu	nu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	stand	stand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	frequency	frequency	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | can | nu |  |  | physics |  | for frequency | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in physic=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Nu? Are you going to eat your soup or not?» asked Bubbe.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* «Nu?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nu:x4:1
# text = «Nu?
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Nu	nu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Are you going to eat your soup or not?» asked Bubbe.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nu:x4:2
# text = Are you going to eat your soup or not?» asked Bubbe.
1	Are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	going	go	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	12	ccomp	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	soup	soup	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
12	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	Bubbe	Bubbe	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	iobj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | present · progressive | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **eat** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | your soup |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent soup=Patient |
| 3 | **ask** *speech: ask* *in a quote* | past |  |  | Bubbe |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S»: agent=Agent bubbe=Recipient clause=Topic |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The alphabet song in Greek goes «…lambda, mu, nu, xi…».

<!-- fold The tree, 10 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nu:x5:1
# text = The alphabet song in Greek goes «…lambda, mu, nu, xi…».
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	alphabet	alphabet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	song	song	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Greek	Greek	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	nmod	_	_
6	goes	go	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	…	…	PUNCT	:	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	lambda	lambda	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	mu	mu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
13	nu	nu	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	xi	xi	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	…	.	PUNCT	.	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | present | the alphabet song in Greek | lambda and mu and nu |  |  |  |  | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The shop sign said «Nu Look Hair» instead of «New Look».

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nu:x6:1
# text = The shop sign said «Nu Look Hair» instead of «New Look».
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	sign	sign	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	Nu	Nu	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	ccomp	_	_
7	Look	Look	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	flat	_	_
8	Hair	Hair	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
10	instead	instead	ADV	RB	_	14	case	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	New	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	Look	Look	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the shop sign |  |  |  |  | instead New Look | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [nt](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nt/)
- next →: [nubbly](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nubbly/)
- ↑ back to [N in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/)