ImagevsImamWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Image” and “Imam” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,273
“Image” frequency rank
#19,613
“Imam” frequency rank
24886
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Image Imam
Definition inneres Bild, das sich Personen von einem Objekt (zum Beispiel von einem Produkt, einer Person, Gruppe oder Organisation) machen; dieses Bild wird dann oft dem Objekt zugeschrieben und beeinflusst damit dessen Ansehen jemand, der ein Gebet (der Gemeinde) vorträgt oder Teile davon im Wechsel mit der Gemeinde spricht; jemand, der das rituelle Gebet in der Moschee leitet

Where the eye mixes Image and Imam

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Image
4 ch
Imam

Visual trap between Image and Imam

A purely visual mix-up. Image ([ˈɪmɪt͡ʃ]) and Imam ([iˈmaːm]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24886, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Image is recorded at frequency rank #5,273, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɪmɪt͡ʃ]. Imam is at rank #19,613, tagged as anoun, pronounced [iˈmaːm].

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 24886, this pair ranks #1,841,223 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Image vs Imam

Shared letters: aim. Private to "Image": eg. Private to "Imam": -.

"Image" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "Imam" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Imageiamge · imaeg · imagge · imgae · immage · miage
  • Imamiamm · imamm · imma · immam · miam

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Image" for "Imam" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɪmɪt͡ʃ] versus [iˈmaːm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Image" or "Imam"?
"Image" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,273 in our German list, against #19,613 for "Imam". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Image" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Imam" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,841,223 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Image" and "Imam" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Imam vs IMs". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,841,223 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list