Aun or aún: when it takes an accent and how to tell them apart in a second

“Aún no he terminado” and “aun así, lo intentaré”. Two correct sentences, the same word… and an accent that appears and disappears. The pair aun/aún is one of the most searched doubts in Spanish, and yet it is solved with a single trick that takes a second to apply. We walk through it calmly, with every tricky case on the table.

The rule in one sentence

“Aún” takes an accent when it means “todavía” (still). “Aun” goes without an accent when it means “incluso” (even), “hasta” (even), “también” (also), or “ni siquiera” (not even).

That is all. The rest of the article is examples, nuances, and the explanation of why it works this way, but if you take away only one thing, let it be this: do the substitution test with “todavía”.

“Aún” with an accent: when you are talking about time

If in the sentence you can change “aún” for “todavía” and it still sounds natural, it takes an accent:

• Aún no ha llegado el paquete. → Todavía no ha llegado el paquete. ✓
• ¿Aún estás despierto? → ¿Todavía estás despierto? ✓
• Es aún más barato de lo que pensaba. → Es todavía más barato. ✓

Notice the last example: “aún” also takes an accent when it accompanies comparatives (“aún más”, “aún menos”, “aún mejor”, “aún peor”), because there it is also equivalent to “todavía”.

Why does it take an accent? Because in this use the word is pronounced with two syllables, “a-ún”, forming a hiatus of an unstressed open vowel and a stressed closed vowel, which is always written with an accent. It is the same reason “raíz” or “baúl” take an accent. If you want to go deeper into this, we have a complete guide to diphthongs and hiatuses.

“Aun” without an accent: when it means “incluso”

If “aún” cannot be replaced with “todavía”, then it does not take an accent. In these cases it is usually equivalent to “incluso”, “hasta”, or “ni siquiera”:

• Aun los más veteranos se equivocan. → Incluso los más veteranos se equivocan. ✓
• No me lo dijo, ni aun sabiendo que me afectaba. → Ni siquiera sabiendo que me afectaba. ✓
• Te ayudaré, aun sin tener tiempo. → Incluso sin tener tiempo. ✓

In this use, “aun” is pronounced with a single syllable (a diphthong: “aun”), unstressed, and that is why it is not written with an accent.

The expression “aun así”

It deserves a separate mention because it is where the most mistakes show up. “Aun así” is always written without an accent, because it means “incluso así” (even so), not “todavía así”:

• Estaba agotado; aun así, terminó la carrera.

If you ever hesitate, do the substitution: “todavía así, terminó la carrera” does not make sense; “incluso así, terminó la carrera” does. No accent.

“Aun cuando”

The same thing happens with “aun cuando”, which is equivalent to “aunque” (although) or “incluso cuando” (even when):

• Aun cuando llueva, iremos. → Aunque llueva, iremos.

The three cases that confuse people most

1. “Aún no” vs. “aun no”. Almost always it will be “aún no” (todavía no, not yet): “Aún no lo sé”. The version without an accent is extremely rare in this combination.

2. “Más aún” and “aún más”. Both with an accent, because they are equivalent to “todavía”: “Esto lo complica aún más”.

3. “Ni aun”. Without an accent when it means “ni siquiera” (not even): “Ni aun pagando el doble lo conseguirás”.

Summary table

Practice until it comes out on its own

The theory of aun/aún is understood in two minutes; the challenge is applying it without thinking when you are quickly typing a message. As we explain in our article on how to practice Spanish accents online, the key is short exercises with immediate feedback: in AprendeTildes you will find specific practice on the diacritical accent and cases like this one, so that the “todavía” test becomes a reflex.