agujavsasumaWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#10,095
“aguja” frequency rank
#18,750
“asuma” frequency rank
28845
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aguja asuma
Definition 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. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de asumir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aguja and asuma apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
aguja
5 ch
asuma

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aguja is [aˈɣ̞uxa] while asuma is [aˈsuma]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28845, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aguja is recorded at frequency rank #10,095, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈɣ̞uxa]. asuma is at rank #18,750, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈsuma].

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 28845, this pair ranks #219,943 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aguja vs asuma

Shared letters: au. Private to "aguja": gj. Private to "asuma": ms.

"aguja" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "asuma" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • agujaagguja · agjua · aguaj · agujja · augja · gauja
  • asumaasmua · assuma · asuam · asumma · ausma · sauma

Frequency comparison

aguja#10,095
asuma#18,750

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aguja" and "asuma" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aguja" is a noun and "asuma" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aguja" or "asuma"?
"aguja" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,095 in our Spanish list, against #18,750 for "asuma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aguja vs asuma

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “aguja”; for a verb, it's “asuma”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “aguja” 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