imánvsIránWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: imán is a noun, Irán is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“imán” is a noun and “Irán” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,122
“imán” frequency rank
#2,991
“Irán” frequency rank
18113
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature imán Irán
Definition Piedra hecha de óxido de hierro natural que tiene la propiedad de atraer los objetos hechos de fierro o acero. País de Asia, ubicado en el Medio Oriente. Limita al este con Pakistán y Afganistán, al noreste con Turkmenistán, al norte con el mar Caspio, al noroeste con Azerbaiyán y Armenia, al oeste con Turquía e Irak y al sur con el golfo Pérsico y el océano Índico.

Where the eye mixes imán and Irán

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
imán
4 ch
Irán

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: imán is [iˈmãn] while Irán is [iˈɾãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - m in “imán” becomes r in “Irán”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18113, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

imán is recorded at frequency rank #15,122, classified as anoun, pronounced [iˈmãn]. Irán is at rank #2,991, tagged as aname, pronounced [iˈɾãn].

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 18113, this pair ranks #269,282 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of imán vs Irán

Shared letters: iná. Private to "imán": m. Private to "Irán": r.

"imán" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "Irán" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "imán" and "Irán" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "imán" is a noun and "Irán" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "imán" or "Irán"?
"Irán" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,991 in our Spanish list, against #15,122 for "imán". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list