Which to use
“nine” and “ninja” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,708
- “nine” frequency rank
- #10,385
- “ninja” frequency rank
- 47093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nine | ninja |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Palabra clave radiofónica del ICAO y NATO para la cifra 9. | Mercenario entrenado especialmente en formas no ortodoxas de hacer la guerra, en las que se incluía el asesinato, espionaje, sabotaje, reconocimiento y guerra de guerrillas, con el afán de desestabilizar al ejército enemigo, obtener información vital de la posición de sus tropas o lograr una ventaja importante que pudiera ser decisiva en el campo de batalla. |
Where the eye mixes nine and ninja
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: nine vs ninja
A purely visual mix-up. nine ([ˈnai̯na]) and ninja ([ˈnĩɲʝa]) 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 47093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nine is recorded at frequency rank #36,708, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnai̯na]. ninja is at rank #10,385, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnĩɲʝa].
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 47093, this pair ranks #121,978 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nine vs ninja
Shared letters: in. Private to "nine": e. Private to "ninja": aj.
"nine" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "ninja" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "nine" for "ninja" ever safe?
Frequency check: "nine" vs "ninja" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ninja" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #121,978 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nine" and "ninja" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nine vs nome". 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 #121,978 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.