iconvsimanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“icon” and “iman” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,504
“icon” frequency rank
#37,507
“iman” frequency rank
43011
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature icon iman
Definition An image, symbol, picture, portrait, or other representation, usually as an object of religious devotion. Pious adherence to the Islamic faith.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
icon
4 ch
iman

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

icon and iman are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43011, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

icon is recorded at frequency rank #5,504, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɪ.kɒn/. iman is at rank #37,507, tagged as anoun.

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 43011, this pair ranks #244,051 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of icon vs iman

Shared letters: in. Private to "icon": co. Private to "iman": am.

"icon" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "iman" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • iconiccon · icno · iconn · iocn
  • imaniamn · imann · imman

Frequency comparison

icon#5,504
iman#37,507

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "icon" and "iman" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "icon" or "iman"?
"icon" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,504 in our English list, against #37,507 for "iman". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering icon vs iman

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “icon” 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