imitarvsimputarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,795
“imitar” frequency rank
#41,415
“imputar” frequency rank
53210
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature imitar imputar
Definition Ejecutar una cosa a imagen o semejanza de otra. Atribuir o asignar a una persona la responsabilidad o autoría de un delito, una culpa o una falta

Where the eye mixes imitar and imputar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
imitar
7 ch
imputar

Why the eye confuses imitar with imputar

A purely visual mix-up. imitar ([imiˈt̪aɾ]) and imputar ([ĩmpuˈt̪aɾ]) 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 53210, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

imitar is recorded at frequency rank #11,795, classified as averb, pronounced [imiˈt̪aɾ]. imputar is at rank #41,415, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩmpuˈt̪aɾ].

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 53210, this pair ranks #88,995 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of imitar vs imputar

Shared letters: aimrt. Private to "imitar": -. Private to "imputar": pu.

"imitar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "imputar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • imitariimtar · imiatr · imitarr · imitra · imittar · immitar · imtiar · miitar
  • imputarimmputar · impputar · imptuar · impuatr · imputarr · imputra · imputtar · imuptar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "imitar" and "imputar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([imiˈt̪aɾ] versus [ĩmpuˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "imitar" or "imputar"?
"imitar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,795 in our Spanish list, against #41,415 for "imputar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "imitar" and "imputar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "imitar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "imputar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #88,995 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "imitar" and "imputar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "imputada vs imputar". 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 #88,995 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list