Which to use
“un” is an article and “unit” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10
- “un” frequency rank
- #40,057
- “unit” frequency rank
- 40067
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | un | unit |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Artículo indeterminado masculino singular. | Unidad. |
Where the eye mixes un and unit
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: un vs unit
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: un is [ũn] while unit is /ˈjuː.nɪt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “un” sits inside “unit”, and the parts of speech differ too (article vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
un is recorded at frequency rank #10, classified as anarticle, pronounced [ũn]. unit is at rank #40,057, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈjuː.nɪt/.
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 40067, this pair ranks #161,093 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of un vs unit
Shared letters: nu. Private to "un": -. Private to "unit": it.
"un" · 2 letters · shape VC · "unit" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- unit ← nuit · uint · unitt · unnit · unti
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "un" and "unit" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "un" or "unit" 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 "un" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #161,093 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "un" and "unit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ubi vs unit". 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 #161,093 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.