alimentanvsalimentosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: alimentan is a verb, alimentos is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“alimentan” is a verb and “alimentos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,969
“alimentan” frequency rank
#1,754
“alimentos” frequency rank
14723
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alimentan alimentos
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de alimentar. Forma del plural de alimento.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alimentan and alimentos apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
alimentan
9 ch
alimentos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alimentan is [aliˈmẽn̪t̪ãn] while alimentos is [aliˈmẽn̪t̪os]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14723, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alimentan is recorded at frequency rank #12,969, classified as averb, pronounced [aliˈmẽn̪t̪ãn]. alimentos is at rank #1,754, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aliˈmẽn̪t̪os].

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 14723, this pair ranks #283,020 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of alimentan vs alimentos

Shared letters: aeilmnt. Private to "alimentan": -. Private to "alimentos": os.

"alimentan" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCCVC  ·  "alimentos" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alimentanailmentan · aliemntan · alimenatn · alimenntan · alimentann · alimentna · alimenttan · alimetnan
  • alimentosailmentos · aliemntos · alimenntos · alimenots · alimentoss · alimentso · alimenttos · alimetnos

Frequency comparison

alimentan#12,969
alimentos#1,754

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alimentan" and "alimentos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alimentan" is a verb and "alimentos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alimentan" or "alimentos"?
"alimentos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,754 in our Spanish list, against #12,969 for "alimentan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alimentan vs alimentos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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