unvsUnoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: un is a adjective, Uno is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“un” is an adjective and “Uno” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12
“un” frequency rank
#20,307
“Uno” frequency rank
20319
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature un Uno
Definition Marque l’unité, le fait qu’une personne ou une chose est seule, unique en son espèce. Jeu de cartes édité par Mattel se jouant avec des cartes spéciales.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set un and Uno apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
un
3 ch
Uno

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

un and Uno 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 extra letter(s) - “un” sits inside “Uno” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20319, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

un is recorded at frequency rank #12, classified as anadj, pronounced \œ̃\. Uno is at rank #20,307, tagged as aname, pronounced \u.no\.

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 20319, this pair ranks #368,872 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

un#12
Uno#20,307

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "un" and "Uno" be used interchangeably?
No, "un" and "Uno" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering un vs Uno

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “un”; for a name, it's “Uno”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “un” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list