imitaciónvsinvitaciónWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,834
“imitación” frequency rank
#4,259
“invitación” frequency rank
17093
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature imitación invitación
Definition Acción y efecto de imitar Acción o efecto de invitar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set imitación and invitación apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
imitación
10 ch
invitación

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. imitación ([imit̪aˈsjõn]) and invitación ([ĩmbit̪aˈsjõn]) 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 17093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

imitación is recorded at frequency rank #12,834, classified as anoun, pronounced [imit̪aˈsjõn]. invitación is at rank #4,259, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ĩmbit̪aˈsjõn].

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 17093, this pair ranks #273,576 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of imitación vs invitación

Shared letters: acintó. Private to "imitación": m. Private to "invitación": v.

"imitación" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVVC  ·  "invitación" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

imitación#12,834
invitación#4,259

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "imitación" and "invitación" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([imit̪aˈsjõn] versus [ĩmbit̪aˈsjõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "imitación" or "invitación"?
"invitación" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,259 in our Spanish list, against #12,834 for "imitación". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering imitación vs invitación

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “imitación” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list