iconvsimánWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,653
“icon” frequency rank
#15,122
“imán” frequency rank
48775
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature icon imán
Definition Icono. Piedra hecha de óxido de hierro natural que tiene la propiedad de atraer los objetos hechos de fierro o acero.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
icon
4 ch
imán

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. icon (/ˈaɪ.kɒn/) and imán ([iˈmãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48775, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

icon is recorded at frequency rank #33,653, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɪ.kɒn/. imán is at rank #15,122, tagged as anoun, pronounced [iˈmãn].

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 48775, this pair ranks #112,614 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of icon vs imán

Shared letters: in. Private to "icon": co. Private to "imán": .

"icon" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "imán" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • iconcion · iccon · icno · iconn · iocn

Frequency comparison

icon#33,653
imán#15,122

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "icon" and "imán" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈaɪ.kɒn/ versus [iˈmãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "icon" or "imán"?
"imán" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,122 in our Spanish list, against #33,653 for "icon". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering icon vs imán

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list