Which to use
“ña” and “nun” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,220
- “ña” frequency rank
- #37,753
- “nun” frequency rank
- 79973
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ña | nun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fórmula de respeto coloquial, usada casi exclusivamente como vocativo o prefijada al nombre | Decimocuarta letra del alfabeto hebreo |
Where the eye mixes ña and nun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. No shared run - shape, not overlap, is the trap. ña runs 2 letters (CV) against nun's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ña vs nun
A purely visual mix-up. ña ([ˈɲa]) and nun ([ˈnũn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79973, 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]. nun is at rank #37,753, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnũn].
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 79973, this pair ranks #12,271 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ña vs nun
Shared letters: none. Private to "ña": añ. Private to "nun": nu.
"ña" · 2 letters · shape CV · "nun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ña" for "nun" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "ña" or "nun" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ña" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #12,271 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ña" and "nun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ña vs nox". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #12,271 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.