univsuniãoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: uni is a verb, união is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“uni” is a verb and “união” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,214
“uni” frequency rank
#815
“união” frequency rank
19029
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature uni união
Definition primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo unir ato ou resultado de unir-se

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set uni and união apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
uni
5 ch
união

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: uni is /ʊ.ˈni/ while união is /u.ˈnjɐ̃w̃/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “uni” sits inside “união”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

uni is recorded at frequency rank #18,214, classified as averb, pronounced /ʊ.ˈni/. união is at rank #815, tagged as anoun, pronounced /u.ˈnjɐ̃w̃/.

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 19029, this pair ranks #51,829 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of uni vs união

Shared letters: inu. Private to "uni": -. Private to "união": .

"uni" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "união" · 5 letters · shape VCVVV

Frequency comparison

uni#18,214
união#815

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "uni" and "união" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "uni" is a verb and "união" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "uni" or "união"?
"união" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #815 in our Portuguese list, against #18,214 for "uni". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering uni vs união

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “uni”; for a noun, it's “união”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “uni” 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