ajívsaúnTell them apart

Quick tell: ají is a noun, aún is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ají” is a noun and “aún” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,912
“ají” frequency rank
#240
“aún” frequency rank
30152
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ají aún
Definition Fruto comestible de diversas especies del género Capsicum, usualmente picante, que se emplea como condimento. Indica que el hecho persiste en el presente, aunque pueda cambiar en lo sucesivo..

Where the eye mixes ají and aún

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

3 ch
ají
3 ch
aún

Look-alike desk: ají vs aún

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ají is [aˈxi] while aún is [aˈũn]. 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 adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30152, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ají is recorded at frequency rank #29,912, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈxi]. aún is at rank #240, tagged as anadv, pronounced [aˈũn].

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 30152, this pair ranks #213,416 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ají vs aún

Shared letters: a. Private to "ají": . Private to "aún": .

"ají" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "aún" · 3 letters · shape VVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ají" for "aún" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ají" is a noun and "aún" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "ají" vs "aún" - which ranks higher?
"aún" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #240 in our Spanish list, against #29,912 for "ají". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ají" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aún" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #213,416 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ají" and "aún" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ají vs apis". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #213,416 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