acevsanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“ace” and “an” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#16,245
“ace” frequency rank
#3,030
“an” frequency rank
19275
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ace an
Definition En el tenis y otros deportes similares, y en el vóley, tanto que se gana con el saque y sin que el rival pueda tocar la pelota. Año.

Where the eye mixes ace and an

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
ace
2 ch
an

Look-alike desk: ace vs an

A purely visual mix-up. ace ([ˈase]) and an ([an]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19275, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ace is recorded at frequency rank #16,245, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈase]. an is at rank #3,030, tagged as anoun, pronounced [an].

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 19275, this pair ranks #264,452 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ace vs an

Shared letters: a. Private to "ace": ce. Private to "an": n.

"ace" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "an" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ace" and "an" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈase] versus [an]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ace" or "an"?
"an" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,030 in our Spanish list, against #16,245 for "ace". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "ace" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "an" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #264,452 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ace" and "an" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abed vs ace". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #264,452 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list