imánvsironWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,122
“imán” frequency rank
#14,630
“iron” frequency rank
29752
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature imán iron
Definition Piedra hecha de óxido de hierro natural que tiene la propiedad de atraer los objetos hechos de fierro o acero. Hierro.

Where the eye mixes imán and iron

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
imán
4 ch
iron

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. imán ([iˈmãn]) and iron (/ˈaɪ.ən/) 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 29752, 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]. iron is at rank #14,630, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɪ.ən/.

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 29752, this pair ranks #215,418 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of imán vs iron

Shared letters: in. Private to "imán": . Private to "iron": or.

"imán" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "iron" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ironiorn · irno · ironn · irron · rion

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "imán" and "iron" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([iˈmãn] versus /ˈaɪ.ən/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "imán" or "iron"?
"iron" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,630 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