Which to use
“add” is a verb and “año” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,393
- “add” frequency rank
- #100
- “año” frequency rank
- 33493
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | add | año |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Añadir, adjuntar. | Intervalo de tiempo que tarda la Tierra en hacer una revolución alrededor del Sol. El año se compone de 365 días y cuarto aproximadamente. Por eso cada cuatro años el año civil tiene un día más. |
Where the eye mixes add and año
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses add with año
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: add is /æd/ while año is [ˈaɲo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33493, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
add is recorded at frequency rank #33,393, classified as averb, pronounced /æd/. año is at rank #100, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɲo].
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 33493, this pair ranks #196,517 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of add vs año
Shared letters: a. Private to "add": d. Private to "año": oñ.
"add" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "año" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "add" for "año" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "add" or "año" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "add" and "año" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "add" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "año" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #196,517 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "add" and "año" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abed vs add". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #196,517 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.