Which to use
“importer” and “imputer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,412
- “importer” frequency rank
- #34,570
- “imputer” frequency rank
- 49982
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | importer | imputer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Apporter, introduire dans un pays des productions étrangères. | Attribuer à quelqu’un une chose digne de blâme. |
Where the eye mixes importer and imputer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses importer with imputer
A purely visual mix-up. importer (\ɛ̃.pɔʁ.te\) and imputer (\ɛ̃.py.te\) 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 49982, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
importer is recorded at frequency rank #15,412, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.pɔʁ.te\. imputer is at rank #34,570, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.py.te\.
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 49982, this pair ranks #166,257 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of importer vs imputer
Shared letters: eimprt. Private to "importer": o. Private to "imputer": u.
"importer" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "imputer" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "importer" and "imputer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "importer" or "imputer"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "importer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "imputer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #166,257 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "importer" and "imputer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "impute vs imputer". 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 #166,257 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.