Which to use
“alimenta” and “alimentan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,399
- “alimenta” frequency rank
- #12,969
- “alimentan” frequency rank
- 22368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alimenta | alimentan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de alimentar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de alimentar. |
Where the eye mixes alimenta and alimentan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. alimenta runs 8 letters (VCVCVCCV) against alimentan's 9 (VCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between alimenta and alimentan
A purely visual mix-up. alimenta ([aliˈmẽn̪t̪a]) and alimentan ([aliˈmẽn̪t̪ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “alimenta” sits inside “alimentan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alimenta is recorded at frequency rank #9,399, classified as averb, pronounced [aliˈmẽn̪t̪a]. alimentan is at rank #12,969, tagged as averb, pronounced [aliˈmẽn̪t̪ãn].
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 22368, this pair ranks #250,652 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of alimenta vs alimentan
Shared letters: aeilmnt. Private to "alimenta": -. Private to "alimentan": -.
"alimenta" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV · "alimentan" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "alimenta" and "alimentan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "alimenta" or "alimentan" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "alimenta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alimentan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #250,652 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alimenta" and "alimentan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alimentan vs asientan". 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 #250,652 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.