Which to use
“ai” is an intj and “an” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,090
- “ai” frequency rank
- #2,817
- “an” frequency rank
- 3907
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ai | an |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | expressa dor física ou sentimental | ligado, aceso: |
Where the eye mixes ai and an
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ai is /aj/ while an is /an/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “ai” becomes n in “an”, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3907, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ai is recorded at frequency rank #1,090, classified as anintj, pronounced /aj/. an is at rank #2,817, tagged as anadv, pronounced /an/.
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 3907, this pair ranks #71,170 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ai vs an
Shared letters: a. Private to "ai": i. Private to "an": n.
"ai" · 2 letters · shape VV · "an" · 2 letters · shape VC