Which to use
“imam” and “isa” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,193
- “imam” frequency rank
- #17,738
- “isa” frequency rank
- 64931
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | imam | isa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante de imán₂. | Estilo musical vocal, en ritmo de tres cuartos, típico de las Islas Canarias. |
Where the eye mixes imam and isa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. imam runs 4 letters (VCVC) against isa's 3 (VCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: imam vs isa
A purely visual mix-up. imam ([iˈmãm]) and isa ([ˈisa]) 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 64931, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
imam is recorded at frequency rank #47,193, classified as anoun, pronounced [iˈmãm]. isa is at rank #17,738, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈisa].
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 64931, this pair ranks #44,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of imam vs isa
Shared letters: ai. Private to "imam": m. Private to "isa": s.
"imam" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "isa" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- imam ← iamm · imamm · immam
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "imam" for "isa" ever safe?
Frequency check: "imam" vs "isa" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "imam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "isa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #44,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "imam" and "isa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "imam 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 #44,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.