This is the 8953rd most frequent Spanish word.
u
The Spanish word "u" means "or" and is used instead of "o" before words starting with "o" or "ho" to avoid repetition of sound.
The conjunction 'u' is used instead of 'o' because the following word 'observar' starts with the sound 'o', for phonetic disambiguation.
¿Prefieres leer un libro u observar una película?
Do you prefer to read a book or watch a movie?
'U' is chosen as the form of the conjunction for phonetic fluency, as 'holandés' starts with 'h' which leads to a similar vowel sound.
Podemos estudiar inglés u holandés esta tarde.
We can study English or Dutch this afternoon.
'U' replaces 'o' before 'otro', ensuring easy differentiation when speaking.