Which to use
“animar” and “anímate” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,524
- “animar” frequency rank
- #27,481
- “anímate” frequency rank
- 40005
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | animar | anímate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dar o insuflar ánimo, valor o confianza. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del imperativo afirmativo de animarse (con el pronombre enclítico). |
Where the eye mixes animar and anímate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: animar vs anímate
A purely visual mix-up. animar ([aniˈmaɾ]) and anímate ([aˈnimat̪e]) 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 40005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
animar is recorded at frequency rank #12,524, classified as averb, pronounced [aniˈmaɾ]. anímate is at rank #27,481, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈnimat̪e].
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 40005, this pair ranks #161,435 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of animar vs anímate
Shared letters: amn. Private to "animar": ir. Private to "anímate": etí.
"animar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "anímate" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- animar ← ainmar · aniamr · animarr · animmar · animra · anmiar · annimar · naimar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "animar" for "anímate" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "animar" or "anímate" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "animar" and "anímate" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "animar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anímate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #161,435 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "animar" and "anímate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ánima vs anímate". 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 #161,435 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.