Aún vs Aun: Todavía, Incluso, y Más
“Why does this aún have an accent mark and the other aun doesn’t?” You are bound to ask this question as an intermediate Spanish student.
English words don’t have accent marks, so you might not find this little mark over u important at first. However, you already know that this apparently insignificant thing can completely change the meaning of a word.
Do you remember other words where an accent mark changes their meaning? Papa vs papá (Pope/potato vs dad), más vs mas (more vs but). In these cases, forgetting an accent can be a game changer.
To learn more, read How to Master Word Stress in Spanish and Understand the Accent Marks.
It’s the same with aún and aun.
Keep reading to learn the difference between these two words, how to use them, how to translate them into English, and what their respective synonyms in Spanish are. I’ll also throw in a pair of expressions to make your life easier.
In the end, you’ll have an opportunity to check your knowledge about aún and aun, and I will tell you how and where you can practice more.
¿Aún aquí? Empecemos. (Still here? Let’s start!)
Aún vs Aun
These two little words don’t seem to be a problem until you have to write them down. What’s more, if you learned Spanish only through conversations, without deeper grammar training, you might not even realize that these are two different words. But they are. Let me explain.
Aún and aun are both adverbs. (If you need a refresher on adverbs, check out 50 Common Spanish Adverbs to Start Using Today).
In theory, the stress mark, or the tilde, causes different pronunciations. However, in such a short word, with different accents in Spanish-speaking countries, different speeds of speaking, the pronunciation is not that different, and you must use an accent mark to distinguish these two words.
Let’s have a closer look at these two tiny words.
Aún
You write aún with the accent mark when you can substitute it with a different Spanish word, todavía (still). Because todavía also has an accent mark, it helps you remember to put a tilde on aún when you want to say todavía.
You use aún in three situations.
1. Todavía – To Indicate Time
You’ll use aún when you want to explain that somebody is still doing something or has not done it yet. In Spanish, you can substitute it with todavía. In affirmative phrases, you translate it into English with “still” and in negative ones with “yet.”
Mis amigos aún están estudiando.
My friends are still studying.
Aún no me has dicho que te pasó.
You haven’t told me yet what happened to you.
Mi novio aún no ha llegado.
My boyfriend hasn’t arrived yet.
2. Sin embargo, no obstante – “Nevertheless”
If you can substitute aún with sin embargo or no obstante and translate it with an English “nevertheless”/”still”, you have to put an accent mark on it.
Le sirvieron la comida muy rápido y aún se quejó.
They served him the food quickly, and nevertheless, he complained.
Era quien más espacio tenía en el escritorio y aún protestó.
He was the one who had the most space on the desk, and nevertheless, he protested.
Tiene una biblioteca de más de mil volúmenes y aún se queja de tener pocos libros.
She has a library of more than a thousand volumes, and nevertheless, she complains of having few books.
3. Todavía, Incluso – To Emphasize or Compare
In this meaning, aún can be substituted with todavía or incluso, and because its function is to emphasize, we pronounce it in a stronger way and write it with an accent mark. In this case, aún will come together with más, menos, mejor, peor, etc.
Su última película tuvo aún más éxito que las anteriores.
His last film was even more successful than the previous ones.
Ganó aún más fama que su padre.
He gained even more fame than his father.
Su explicación hizo que entendiera aún menos.
His explanation made me understand even less.
Aún mejor que no puedas venir, tendré más tiempo para estudiar.
Even better that you can’t come, I’ll have more time to study.
Aun
When you see aun without the accent mark, it surely means incluso, ni siquiera, or hasta and is translated to English with “even” or “not even.”
1. Incluso
When aun means incluso, it’s often followed by a gerund, the verb forms finishing with -ando or iendo.
Aun teniendo a Messi en el equipo, perdieron el partido.
Even having Messi on the team, they lost the game.
Aun estando casados, mantenían las cuentas bancarias separadas.
Even though they were married, they kept separate bank accounts.
Aun llorando, te ves bonita.
Even crying, you look pretty.
2. Hasta
We can translate aun in this case with “even,” meaning “as much as,” “as far as,” etc.
Nunca es tarde para estudiar Español, aun después de la universidad.
It’s never too late to study Spanish, even after college.
Te daré 100 pesos, y aun 200, si los necesitas.
I will give you 100 pesos, and even 200, if you need it
3. Ni siquiera
If we add ni before aun, it means “not even.”
Ni aun sin dinero, va a admitir que su negocio fue un fracaso.
Even without money, he will not admit that his business was a failure.
No tengo tanto dinero, ni aun la mitad.
I don’t have that much money, not even half.
4. Aun cuando
Aun cuando is one of two expressions that use aun without the accent mark. You can translate it with “even when.”
Si no comes frutas y verduras, no estarás sana aun cuando hagas ejercicios.
If you don’t eat fruit and vegetables, you won’t be healthy even when you exercise.
No dirá que tienes razón, aun cuando pierda dinero por esto.
He won’t say you’re right, even if he loses money because of it.
Watch out, because aun cuando is followed by the subjunctive mood! To learn other expressions after which you have to use the subjunctive mood, check out:
- The Ultimate Guide to Subjunctive Conjugation in Spanish
- A Simple Guide to Subjunctive vs Indicative in Spanish
5. Aun así
Aun así is also written without the accent mark, and it translates as “even so.” In Spanish, you can substitute it with a pesar de.
Sabía que no me gustaba, aun así siguió enviándome flores todos los días.
He knew I didn’t like him, yet he still kept sending me flowers every day.
Ya sé que no tienes mucho dinero, aun así te quiero y no me importa.
I know you don’t have much money, I still love you and I don’t care.
Aun vs Aún Summary and Exercises
Ready to try yourself?
Just remember:
Aún = todavía, no obstante, sin embargo, incluso (to emphasize)
Aun = hasta, incluso, ni siquiera + aun cuando, aun así
Now, you can check your knowledge.
Aun or Aún?
Fill in the sentences with aun or aún:
- Mi papá ______ no ha sacado todas las compras.
- Ni ______ viéndolo puedo creer en su transformación.
- ______ no he comprado mi computadora nueva.
- ______ siendo muy temprano cuando llegue a casa, mi mamá me regañó.
- ¿Cuánto tardarás ______ en terminar este libro?
- Nada en el mar ______ cuando hace frío.
- ______ nuestros hijos pueden comportarse mal de vez en cuando.
- ______ no ha llegado el camión. Tenemos que esperar más.
- El equipo se esforzó pero, ______ así, perdió el partido.
- Ana no ha terminado sus estudios ______.
Click here for the translation of the questions and to see the answers.
Keep Practicing
Have you got all of them right? If not, don’t worry, it’s just a matter of practice. It’s a lot to remember, but after some time, you’ll get better and better. Every time you read in Spanish and see aún or aun, take a moment and think about why it does or does not have an accent mark.
If you still need some help to take your aun vs aún to the next level, sign up for a free class with one of our friendly native-speaking teachers from Guatemala. ¡Aún estás a tiempo para aprender aun vs aún! (You still have time to learn aun vs aún!)
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Answer Key
- aún
- aun
- aún
- aun
- aún
- aun
- aun/aún (both are correct with different translations.)
- aún
- aun
- aún
Translation
- My dad hasn’t gotten all the groceries out yet.
- Not even seeing him I can believe in his transformation.
- I haven’t bought my new computer yet.
- Even though it was very early when I got home, my mom scolded me.
- How long will it still take you to finish this book?
- He swims in the sea even when it’s cold.
- Even our children can misbehave from time to time. / Our children can still misbehave from time to time.
- The bus hasn’t arrived yet. We have to wait longer.
- The team made an effort but still lost the game.
- Ana has not finished her studies yet.
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Hello, Great work. Just one disagreement: On number 7 of the quiz, you seem to be emphasizing “nuestros” to differentiate from other people’s children, and thus justify the use of “even” in your translation, which would require the correct answer to be “aun” (without an accent). This is correct, but this sentence is ambiguous because it can also be interpreted and translated another way, as in, “Our children can still misbehave from time to time…” The use of “still” (as in time related) would require the use of “aun” (with an accent, which I can’t type here). My two cents.
Hello! Thank you so much for your comment. You’re right, it can be translated into both of them. I’ve made the changes to the answer key!