Which to use
“un” is an article and “une” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10
- “un” frequency rank
- #3,598
- “une” frequency rank
- 3608
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | un | une |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Artículo indeterminado masculino singular. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de unir. |
Where the eye mixes un and une
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: un vs une
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: un is [ũn] while une is [ˈune]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “un” sits inside “une”, and the parts of speech differ too (article vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3608, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
un is recorded at frequency rank #10, classified as anarticle, pronounced [ũn]. une is at rank #3,598, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈune].
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 3608, this pair ranks #317,948 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of un vs une
Shared letters: nu. Private to "un": -. Private to "une": e.
"un" · 2 letters · shape VC · "une" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "un" and "une" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "un" or "une" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "un" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "une" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #317,948 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "un" and "une" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "une vs urea". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #317,948 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.