ImamvsIsarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Imam is a noun, Isar is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Imam” is a noun and “Isar” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,613
“Imam” frequency rank
#19,264
“Isar” frequency rank
38877
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Imam Isar
Definition 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 Der zweitgrößte rechte Nebenfluss der oberen Donau; entspringt im Karwendelgebirge, fließt südlich von München in einem tief eingeschnittenen Flussbett, nördlich von München auf der bayrischen Hochfläche, mündet nach 295 km Flusslauf bei Deggendorf in die Donau.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Imam and Isar apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Imam
4 ch
Isar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Imam is [iˈmaːm] while Isar is [ˈiːzaʁ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38877, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Imam is recorded at frequency rank #19,613, classified as anoun, pronounced [iˈmaːm]. Isar is at rank #19,264, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈiːzaʁ].

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 38877, this pair ranks #1,552,257 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Imam vs Isar

Shared letters: ai. Private to "Imam": m. Private to "Isar": rs.

"Imam" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "Isar" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Imamiamm · imamm · imma · immam · miam
  • Isariasr · isarr · isra · issar · siar

Frequency comparison

Imam#19,613
Isar#19,264

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Imam" and "Isar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Imam" is a noun and "Isar" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Imam" or "Isar"?
"Isar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,264 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.

Remembering Imam vs Isar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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