Imitation

[imitaˈt͡si̯oːn]

/[imitaˈt͡si̯oːn]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Imitation” has 12 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #34,186. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,186
frequency rank, German
1,488
“I” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - die Handlung, etwas nachzumachen (etwas best möglich zu kopieren)

Corpus desk

Index DE-imitation · Imitation · German

Imitation · rank #34,186 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #34,186
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,488
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ilm

Nearest frequency peer: Ilm (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „Imitation“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „Imitation“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Imitation vs irritation
70% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Imitation
PropertyValue
HeadwordImitation
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[imitaˈt͡si̯oːn]
Letters9
Frequency rank#34,186
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Imitation“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).Imitationliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Ilm“ (#34,185), „imposanten“ (#34,187), „IAA“ (#34,184). Unter 1,488 „I“-Lemmata liegt „Imitation“ bei #34,186. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around Imitation (IPA [imitaˈt͡si̯oːn]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #34,186 among 1,488 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for Imitation, with forms such as "iimtation", "imiattion", and "imitaiton". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "irritation", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is Imitation, spelled I-M-I-T-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    die Handlung, etwas nachzumachen (etwas best möglich zu kopieren)
  2. 2
    ein (minderwertiges) Produkt, das so gemacht wurde, dass es einem anderen gleicht; eine Produktkopie
  3. 3
    genaue Wiederholung des Themas in einer anderen Tonlage

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Imitation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Die Imitation der Eltern ist Teil des Lernprozesses.
  2. „Die Rolle der Imitation beim Spracherwerb und in der Lerntheorie überhaupt gehört zu den kontroversen Fragen, zu deren Klärung sowohl viele Einzeluntersuchungen als auch genaue Begriffserklärung notwendig sind.“

Synonyms

ImitatFälschung

Antonyms

Original

This word in other languages

imitation(English)imitación(Español)imitation(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iimtation
  • imiattion
  • imitaiton
  • imitatino
  • imitationn
  • imitatoin
  • imitattion
  • imittaion
  • imittation
  • immitation
  • imtiation
  • miitation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Imitation - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

iimtation2imiattion2imitaiton2imitatino2imitationn1imitatoin2imitattion1imittaion2
Edit distance from "Imitation"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Imitation"?
"Imitation" is spelled I-M-I-T-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is [imitaˈt͡si̯oːn].
What does "Imitation" mean?
As a noun, "Imitation" means: die Handlung, etwas nachzumachen (etwas best möglich zu kopieren)
What words are commonly confused with "Imitation"?
"Imitation" is commonly confused with "irritation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Imitation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Imitation" is [imitaˈt͡si̯oːn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Imitation" come from?
"Imitation" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Imitation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

innersten#34,190hungrigen#34,181hinhalten#34,171hindeutet#34,169

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Hornhaut12 variantsIslamist12 variantsLavendel12 variantsLeitlinie12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list