ahivsanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,101
“ahi” frequency rank
#3,030
“an” frequency rank
5131
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ahi an
Definition Fuego Año.

Where the eye mixes ahi and an

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

3 ch
ahi
2 ch
an

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ahi ([ˈa.hi]) 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 5131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ahi is recorded at frequency rank #2,101, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈa.hi]. 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 5131, this pair ranks #314,418 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ahi vs an

Shared letters: a. Private to "ahi": hi. Private to "an": n.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ahi" and "an" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈa.hi] versus [an]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ahi" or "an"?
"ahi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,101 in our Spanish list, against #3,030 for "an". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list