importanvsimportenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,626
“importan” frequency rank
#37,143
“importen” frequency rank
42769
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature importan importen
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de importar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de importar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set importan and importen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
importan
8 ch
importen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. importan ([ĩmˈpoɾt̪ãn]) and importen ([ĩmˈpoɾt̪ẽn]) 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 a single letter - a in “importan” becomes e in “importen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

importan is recorded at frequency rank #5,626, classified as averb, pronounced [ĩmˈpoɾt̪ãn]. importen is at rank #37,143, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩmˈpoɾt̪ẽn].

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 42769, this pair ranks #146,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of importan vs importen

Shared letters: imnoprt. Private to "importan": a. Private to "importen": e.

"importan" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "importen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • importanimmportan · imoprtan · imporatn · imporrtan · importann · importna · importtan · impotran
  • importenimmporten · imoprten · imporetn · imporrten · importenn · importne · importten · impotren

Frequency comparison

importan#5,626
importen#37,143

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "importan" and "importen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ĩmˈpoɾt̪ãn] versus [ĩmˈpoɾt̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "importan" or "importen"?
"importan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,626 in our Spanish list, against #37,143 for "importen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering importan vs importen

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 “importan” 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