agovsajWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: ago is a adjective, aj is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ago” is an adjective and “aj” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,603
“ago” frequency rank
#21,891
“aj” frequency rank
35494
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ago aj
Definition Hace. Síndrome o enfermedad crónica, causada por la vejez u otra condición estable.

Where the eye mixes ago and aj

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

3 ch
ago
2 ch
aj

Why the eye confuses ago with aj

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ago is /əˈɡəʊ/ while aj is [ˈaks]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35494, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ago is recorded at frequency rank #13,603, classified as anadj, pronounced /əˈɡəʊ/. aj is at rank #21,891, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaks].

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 35494, this pair ranks #185,792 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ago vs aj

Shared letters: a. Private to "ago": go. Private to "aj": j.

"ago" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "aj" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ago" for "aj" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ago" is an adjective and "aj" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "ago" vs "aj" - which ranks higher?
"ago" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,603 in our Spanish list, against #21,891 for "aj". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ago" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aj" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #185,792 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ago" and "aj" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aj vs atl". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #185,792 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