agudavsagujaWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#10,962
“aguda” frequency rank
#10,095
“aguja” frequency rank
21057
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aguda aguja
Definition Forma del femenino singular de agudo. Barrita puntiaguda de metal, hueso o madera con un ojo por donde se pasa el hilo, cuerda, etc., con que se cose, borda o teje.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aguda and aguja apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
aguda
5 ch
aguja

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aguda is [aˈɣ̞uð̞a] while aguja is [aˈɣ̞uxa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “aguda” becomes j in “aguja”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21057, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aguda is recorded at frequency rank #10,962, classified as anadj, pronounced [aˈɣ̞uð̞a]. aguja is at rank #10,095, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aˈɣ̞uxa].

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 21057, this pair ranks #256,613 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aguda vs aguja

Shared letters: agu. Private to "aguda": d. Private to "aguja": j.

"aguda" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "aguja" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • agudaagdua · agguda · aguad · agudda · augda · gauda
  • agujaagguja · agjua · aguaj · agujja · augja · gauja

Frequency comparison

aguda#10,962
aguja#10,095

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aguda" and "aguja" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aguda" is an adjective and "aguja" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aguda" or "aguja"?
"aguja" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,095 in our Spanish list, against #10,962 for "aguda". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aguda vs aguja

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “aguda”; for a noun, it's “aguja”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “aguda” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list