Which to use
“cuán” is an adverb and “cuya” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,647
- “cuán” frequency rank
- #1,475
- “cuya” frequency rank
- 8122
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cuán | cuya |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Se usa en oraciones exclamativas para acentuar el grado o la intensidad. | (Crescentia cujete) Árbol de la familia de las bignoniáceas, originario de la zona intertropical de América. |
Where the eye mixes cuán and cuya
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cuán and cuya
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cuán is [ˈkwãn] while cuya is [ˈkuʝa]. 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 8122, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cuán is recorded at frequency rank #6,647, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈkwãn]. cuya is at rank #1,475, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkuʝa].
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 8122, this pair ranks #305,934 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cuán vs cuya
Shared letters: cu. Private to "cuán": ná. Private to "cuya": ay.
"cuán" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "cuya" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- cuya ← ccuya · cuay · cuyya · cyua · ucya
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cuán" for "cuya" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cuán" vs "cuya" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cuán" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cuya" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #305,934 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cuán" and "cuya" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cuán vs cuc". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #305,934 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.