importarvsimputarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,128
“importar” frequency rank
#41,415
“imputar” frequency rank
44543
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature importar imputar
Definition Merecer atención y valoración por su entidad o significatividad. Atribuir o asignar a una persona la responsabilidad o autoría de un delito, una culpa o una falta

Where the eye mixes importar and imputar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
importar
7 ch
imputar

Look-alike desk: importar vs imputar

A purely visual mix-up. importar ([ĩmpoɾˈt̪aɾ]) 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 44543, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

importar is recorded at frequency rank #3,128, classified as averb, pronounced [ĩmpoɾˈt̪aɾ]. 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 44543, this pair ranks #136,473 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of importar vs imputar

Shared letters: aimprt. Private to "importar": o. Private to "imputar": u.

"importar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "imputar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • importarimmportar · imoprtar · imporatr · imporrtar · importarr · importra · importtar · impotrar
  • imputarimmputar · impputar · imptuar · impuatr · imputarr · imputra · imputtar · imuptar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "importar" for "imputar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ĩmpoɾˈt̪aɾ] versus [ĩmpuˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "importar" vs "imputar" - which ranks higher?
"importar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,128 in our Spanish list, against #41,415 for "imputar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "importar" 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 #136,473 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "importar" 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 #136,473 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