Which to use
“import” is a noun and “impose” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,562
- “import” frequency rank
- #2,579
- “impose” frequency rank
- 22141
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | import | impose |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Importation. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de imposer. |
Where the eye mixes import and impose
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: import vs impose
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: import is \ɛ̃.pɔʁ\ while impose is \ɛ̃.poz\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22141, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
import is recorded at frequency rank #19,562, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.pɔʁ\. impose is at rank #2,579, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.poz\.
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 22141, this pair ranks #359,633 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of import vs impose
Shared letters: imop. Private to "import": rt. Private to "impose": es.
"import" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "impose" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "import" and "impose" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "import" vs "impose" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "import" and "impose" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "import" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "impose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #359,633 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "import" and "impose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Imbert vs import". 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 #359,633 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.