imagenvsimánConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#535
“imagen” frequency rank
#15,122
“imán” frequency rank
15657
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature imagen imán
Definition Representación visual de una cosa. Piedra hecha de óxido de hierro natural que tiene la propiedad de atraer los objetos hechos de fierro o acero.

Where the eye mixes imagen and imán

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. imagen runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against imán's 4 (VCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
imagen
4 ch
imán

Look-alike desk: imagen vs imán

A purely visual mix-up. imagen ([iˈmaxẽn]) 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 differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15657, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

imagen is recorded at frequency rank #535, classified as anoun, pronounced [iˈmaxẽn]. 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 15657, this pair ranks #279,279 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of imagen vs imán

Shared letters: imn. Private to "imagen": aeg. Private to "imán": á.

"imagen" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "imán" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • imagen ← iamgen · imaegn · imagenn · imaggen · imagne · imgaen · immagen · miagen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "imagen" and "imán" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([iˈmaxẽn] versus [iˈmãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "imagen" vs "imán" - which ranks higher?
"imagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #535 in our Spanish list, against #15,122 for "imán". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "imagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "imán" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #279,279 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "imagen" and "imán" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "imán vs iza". 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 #279,279 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list