Which to use
“aquí” is an adverb and “au” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #143
- “aquí” frequency rank
- #7,821
- “au” frequency rank
- 7964
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aquí | au |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | En la proximidad del que habla o comunica. | Indica dolor. |
Where the eye mixes aquí and au
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. aquí runs 4 letters (VCVV) against au's 2 (VV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: aquí vs au
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aquí is [aˈki] while au is [ˈaw]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7964, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aquí is recorded at frequency rank #143, classified as anadv, pronounced [aˈki]. au is at rank #7,821, tagged as anintj, pronounced [ˈaw].
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 7964, this pair ranks #306,382 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aquí vs au
Shared letters: au. Private to "aquí": qí. Private to "au": -.
"aquí" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "au" · 2 letters · shape VV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "aquí" and "au" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "aquí" or "au" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aquí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "au" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,382 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aquí" and "au" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "atl vs au". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #306,382 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.