aúnvsayoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#240
“aún” frequency rank
#45,145
“ayo” frequency rank
45385
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aún ayo
Definition Indica que el hecho persiste en el presente, aunque pueda cambiar en lo sucesivo.. Persona encargada del cuidado y educación de los niños en los hogares pudientes.

Where the eye mixes aún and ayo

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

3 ch
aún
3 ch
ayo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aún is [aˈũn] while ayo is [ˈaʝo]. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aún is recorded at frequency rank #240, classified as anadv, pronounced [aˈũn]. ayo is at rank #45,145, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʝo].

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 45385, this pair ranks #131,736 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aún vs ayo

Shared letters: a. Private to "aún": . Private to "ayo": oy.

"aún" · 3 letters · shape VVC  ·  "ayo" · 3 letters · shape VVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aún" and "ayo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aún" is an adverb and "ayo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aún" or "ayo"?
"aún" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #240 in our Spanish list, against #45,145 for "ayo". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "aún" and "ayo". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aún" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ayo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #131,736 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aún" and "ayo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alió vs ayo". Nearby pair

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list