chaivscuánWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#43,454
“chai” frequency rank
#6,647
“cuán” frequency rank
50101
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chai cuán
Definition Bodega, cava Se usa en oraciones exclamativas para acentuar el grado o la intensidad.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chai and cuán apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
chai
4 ch
cuán

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chai is /ʃɛ/ while cuán is [ˈkwãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 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 50101, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chai is recorded at frequency rank #43,454, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʃɛ/. cuán is at rank #6,647, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈkwãn].

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 50101, this pair ranks #105,080 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of chai vs cuán

Shared letters: c. Private to "chai": ahi. Private to "cuán": nuá.

"chai" · 4 letters · shape CCVV  ·  "cuán" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chaicahi · cchai · chhai · chia · hcai

Frequency comparison

chai#43,454
cuán#6,647

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chai" and "cuán" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "chai" is a noun and "cuán" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "chai" or "cuán"?
"cuán" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,647 in our Spanish list, against #43,454 for "chai". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chai vs cuán

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “chai”; for an adverb, it's “cuán”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chai” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list