an
[ˈæn]article, number, noun, preposition
an is spelled A-N: 2 letters and one syllable. It appears 3,388 times per million words in written English, the 32nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “an vs and” about 210 times a month (Google, United States). As an article, an means “Used before a vowel sound” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in an?
| Letters | 2: A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3,388 times per million words; the 32nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is an?
An appears 3,388 times per million words in written English, the 32nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce an?
- /ˈæn/
- UK [ˈæn]
- British [ˈan]
An has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-an.wav, En-us-an.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Pvanp7-an_(unstressed).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with an
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of an
- ans plural
- on-
- a-
- more -an comparative
- most -an superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does an mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
article
- 1
Used before a vowel sound.
I'll be there in half an hour.
- 2
Used before /h/ in a stressed or unstressed syllable.
- 3
rareUsed before one and words with initial ⟨u⟩, ⟨eu⟩ when pronounced /ju/.
- 4
UKnonstandardUsed before all consonants.
number
- 1
UKnonstandardone
noun
- 1
The first letter of the Georgian alphabet, ა (Mkhedruli), Ⴀ (Asomtavruli) or ⴀ (Nuskhuri).
preposition
- 1
In each; to or for each; per.
I was only going twenty miles an hour.
noun
- 1
USA set of sizes for screw threads agreed upon and jointly used by the United States Army and Navy.
- 2
Initialism of author's note or authors' note.
- 3
Initialism of antinatalism.
- 4
Initialism of antinatalist.
conjunction
- 1
archaicIf
- 2
archaicSo long as.
An it harm none, do what ye will.
- 3
archaicAs if; as though.
At length did cross an Albatross, Thorough the Fog it came; And an it were a Christian Soul, We hail'd it in God's Name.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
An in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | un, une |
| German | ein, eine , so , -isch |
| Portuguese | um, uma , -ão, -ano, -ana |
| Spanish | un, una , -ano |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does an come from?
From Middle English an, from Old English ān (“a, an”, literally “one”). More at one.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).