ignorarvsinnovarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,841
“ignorar” frequency rank
#23,098
“innovar” frequency rank
28939
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ignorar innovar
Definition Desconocer algo, o carecer de noticias de ello Desarrollar o producir algo novedoso en un ámbito o actividad.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ignorar and innovar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
ignorar
7 ch
innovar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ignorar ([iɣ̞noˈɾaɾ]) and innovar ([ĩnnoˈβ̞aɾ]) 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 28939, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ignorar is recorded at frequency rank #5,841, classified as averb, pronounced [iɣ̞noˈɾaɾ]. innovar is at rank #23,098, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩnnoˈβ̞aɾ].

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 28939, this pair ranks #219,485 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ignorar vs innovar

Shared letters: ainor. Private to "ignorar": g. Private to "innovar": v.

"ignorar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "innovar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ignorarginorar · iggnorar · ignnorar · ignoarr · ignorarr · ignorra · ignorrar · ignroar
  • innovarinnoavr · innobar · innovarr · innovra · innovvar · innvoar · inonvar · inovar

Frequency comparison

ignorar#5,841
innovar#23,098

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ignorar" and "innovar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([iɣ̞noˈɾaɾ] versus [ĩnnoˈβ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ignorar" or "innovar"?
"ignorar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,841 in our Spanish list, against #23,098 for "innovar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ignorar vs innovar

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 “ignorar” 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