imitierenvsimitiertWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#28,255
“imitieren” frequency rank
#40,009
“imitiert” frequency rank
68264
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature imitieren imitiert
Definition etwas nach dem Muster, Vorbild von etwas Anderem tun 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs imitieren

Where the eye mixes imitieren and imitiert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. imitieren runs 9 letters (VCVCVVCVC) against imitiert's 8 (VCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
imitieren
8 ch
imitiert

Visual trap between imitieren and imitiert

A purely visual mix-up. imitieren ([imiˈtiːʁən]) and imitiert ([imiˈtiːɐ̯t]) 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 68264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

imitieren is recorded at frequency rank #28,255, classified as averb, pronounced [imiˈtiːʁən]. imitiert is at rank #40,009, tagged as averb, pronounced [imiˈtiːɐ̯t].

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 68264, this pair ranks #513,412 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of imitieren vs imitiert

Shared letters: eimrt. Private to "imitieren": n. Private to "imitiert": -.

"imitieren" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVVCVC  ·  "imitiert" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • imitieren ← iimtieren · imiiteren · imiteiren · imitieern · imitierenn · imitierne · imitierren · imitireen
  • imitiert ← iimtiert · imiitert · imiteirt · imitierrt · imitiertt · imitietr · imitiret · imittiert

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "imitieren" and "imitiert" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([imiˈtiːʁən] versus [imiˈtiːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "imitieren" vs "imitiert" - which ranks higher?
"imitieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,255 in our German list, against #40,009 for "imitiert". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "imitieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "imitiert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #513,412 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "imitieren" and "imitiert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "imitieren vs initiieren". 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 #513,412 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