Which to use
“año” is a noun and “are” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #100
- “año” frequency rank
- #6,261
- “are” frequency rank
- 6361
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | año | are |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Intervalo de tiempo que tarda la Tierra en hacer una revolución alrededor del Sol. El año se compone de 365 días y cuarto aproximadamente. Por eso cada cuatro años el año civil tiene un día más. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de arar. |
Where the eye mixes año and are
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: año is [ˈaɲo] while are is [ˈaɾe]. 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 6361, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
año is recorded at frequency rank #100, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɲo]. are is at rank #6,261, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɾe].
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 6361, this pair ranks #310,989 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of año vs are
Shared letters: a. Private to "año": oñ. Private to "are": er.
"año" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "are" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "año" and "are" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "año" or "are"?
What to do next
You've compared "año" and "are". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "año" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "are" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #310,989 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "año" and "are" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abed vs are". Nearby pair
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.