runvsRuyWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: run is a verb, Ruy is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“run” is a verb and “Ruy” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,221
“run” frequency rank
#34,768
“Ruy” frequency rank
49989
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature run Ruy
Definition Correr. Nombre de pila de varón.

Where the eye mixes run and Ruy

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
run
3 ch
Ruy

Look-alike desk: run vs Ruy

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: run is /ɹʌn/ while Ruy is [ˈruj]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “run” becomes y in “Ruy”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49989, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

run is recorded at frequency rank #15,221, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹʌn/. Ruy is at rank #34,768, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈruj].

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 49989, this pair ranks #105,711 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of run vs Ruy

Shared letters: ru. Private to "run": n. Private to "Ruy": y.

"run" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Ruy" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "run" and "Ruy" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "run" is a verb and "Ruy" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "run" or "Ruy" show up more?
"run" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,221 in our Spanish list, against #34,768 for "Ruy". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "run" and "Ruy" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "run" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ruy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #105,711 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "run" and "Ruy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rulo vs Ruy". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #105,711 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list