impedirvsimperioWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: impedir is a verb, imperio is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“impedir” is a verb and “imperio” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,432
“impedir” frequency rank
#2,297
“imperio” frequency rank
6729
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature impedir imperio
Definition Estorbar, imposibilitar la ejecución de una cosa. Acción de imperar, o de mandar con autoridad.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set impedir and imperio apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
impedir
7 ch
imperio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: impedir is [ĩmpeˈð̞iɾ] while imperio is [ĩmˈpeɾjo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6729, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

impedir is recorded at frequency rank #4,432, classified as averb, pronounced [ĩmpeˈð̞iɾ]. imperio is at rank #2,297, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ĩmˈpeɾjo].

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 6729, this pair ranks #309,943 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of impedir vs imperio

Shared letters: eimpr. Private to "impedir": d. Private to "imperio": o.

"impedir" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "imperio" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • impedirimepdir · immpedir · impdeir · impeddir · impedirr · impedri · impeidr · imppedir
  • imperioimeprio · immperio · impeiro · imperoi · imperrio · impperio · impreio · ipmerio

Frequency comparison

impedir#4,432
imperio#2,297

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "impedir" and "imperio" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "impedir" is a verb and "imperio" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "impedir" or "imperio"?
"imperio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,297 in our Spanish list, against #4,432 for "impedir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering impedir vs imperio

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “impedir”; for a noun, it's “imperio”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “impedir” 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