Which to use
“ña” is a noun and “nah” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,220
- “ña” frequency rank
- #14,411
- “nah” frequency rank
- 56631
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ña | nah |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fórmula de respeto coloquial, usada casi exclusivamente como vocativo o prefijada al nombre | Variante de nahe |
Where the eye mixes ña and nah
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ña vs nah
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ña is [ˈɲa] while nah is [naː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56631, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ña is recorded at frequency rank #42,220, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɲa]. nah is at rank #14,411, tagged as anadj, pronounced [naː].
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 56631, this pair ranks #73,785 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ña vs nah
Shared letters: a. Private to "ña": ñ. Private to "nah": hn.
"ña" · 2 letters · shape CV · "nah" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ña" for "nah" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ña" vs "nah" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ña" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nah" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,785 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ña" and "nah" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ña vs nox". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #73,785 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.