imitadorvsimitarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: imitador is a adjective, imitar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“imitador” is an adjective and “imitar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,750
“imitador” frequency rank
#11,795
“imitar” frequency rank
50545
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature imitador imitar
Definition Que imita. Ejecutar una cosa a imagen o semejanza de otra.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set imitador and imitar apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
imitador
6 ch
imitar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: imitador is [imit̪aˈð̞oɾ] while imitar is [imiˈt̪aɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

imitador is recorded at frequency rank #38,750, classified as anadj, pronounced [imit̪aˈð̞oɾ]. imitar is at rank #11,795, tagged as averb, pronounced [imiˈt̪aɾ].

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 50545, this pair ranks #102,634 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of imitador vs imitar

Shared letters: aimrt. Private to "imitador": do. Private to "imitar": -.

"imitador" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC  ·  "imitar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • imitadoriimtador · imiatdor · imitaddor · imitadorr · imitadro · imitaodr · imitdaor · imittador
  • imitariimtar · imiatr · imitarr · imitra · imittar · immitar · imtiar · miitar

Frequency comparison

imitador#38,750
imitar#11,795

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "imitador" and "imitar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "imitador" is an adjective and "imitar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "imitador" or "imitar"?
"imitar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,795 in our Spanish list, against #38,750 for "imitador". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering imitador vs imitar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “imitador”; for a verb, it's “imitar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “imitador” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list