Which to use
“image” is a noun and “imagine” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,613
- “image” frequency rank
- #13,715
- “imagine” frequency rank
- 30328
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | image | imagine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Imagen. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de imaginar. |
Where the eye mixes image and imagine
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between image and imagine
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: image is [Lyon (Francia)] /i.maʒ/ while imagine is [imaˈxine]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30328, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
image is recorded at frequency rank #16,613, classified as anoun, pronounced [Lyon (Francia)] /i.maʒ/. imagine is at rank #13,715, tagged as averb, pronounced [imaˈxine].
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 30328, this pair ranks #212,528 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of image vs imagine
Shared letters: aegim. Private to "image": -. Private to "imagine": n.
"image" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "imagine" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "image" for "imagine" ever safe?
Which is more common, "image" or "imagine"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "image" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "imagine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #212,528 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "image" and "imagine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "image vs imam". 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 #212,528 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.