Which to use
“nació” is a verb and “nación” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,177
- “nació” frequency rank
- #1,038
- “nación” frequency rank
- 3215
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nació | nación |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de nacer. | Comunidad de personas que comparten un legado cultural, étnico o histórico. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nació and nación apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nació is [naˈsjo] while nación is [naˈsjõn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “nació” sits inside “nación”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3215, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nació is recorded at frequency rank #2,177, classified as averb, pronounced [naˈsjo]. nación is at rank #1,038, tagged as anoun, pronounced [naˈsjõn].
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 3215, this pair ranks #318,806 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nació vs nación
Shared letters: acinó. Private to "nació": -. Private to "nación": -.
"nació" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "nación" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nació" and "nación" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "nació" or "nación"?
Remembering nació vs nación
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “nació”; for a noun, it's “nación”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nació” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable