Which to use
“un” is an article and “urna” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10
- “un” frequency rank
- #15,245
- “urna” frequency rank
- 15255
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | un | urna |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Artículo indeterminado masculino singular. | Tipo de vasija o caja especial destinada a guardar objetos de valor o las cenizas de los muertos (urna funeraria). |
Where the eye mixes un and urna
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses un with urna
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: un is [ũn] while urna is [ˈuɾna]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (article vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15255, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
un is recorded at frequency rank #10, classified as anarticle, pronounced [ũn]. urna is at rank #15,245, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈuɾna].
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 15255, this pair ranks #280,922 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of un vs urna
Shared letters: nu. Private to "un": -. Private to "urna": ar.
"un" · 2 letters · shape VC · "urna" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- urna ← unra · uran · urnna · urrna
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "un" for "urna" ever safe?
Frequency check: "un" vs "urna" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "un" and "urna" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "un" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "urna" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #280,922 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "un" and "urna" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "urea vs urna". 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 #280,922 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.