Which to use
“an” is a noun and “aux” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #363
- “an” frequency rank
- #58
- “aux” frequency rank
- 421
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | an | aux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Temps que met la Terre à accomplir une révolution autour du Soleil et qui se divise en douze mois. Année (voir Notes plus bas). | Contraction obligatoire de la préposition à et de l'article défini les. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set an and aux apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
an and aux form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 421, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
an is recorded at frequency rank #363, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃\. aux is at rank #58, tagged as anarticle, pronounced \o\.
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 421, this pair ranks #439,671 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "an" and "aux" be used interchangeably?
Remembering an vs aux
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “an”; for an article, it's “aux”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “an” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable