Which to use
“imitar” and “irritar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,694
- “imitar” frequency rank
- #12,920
- “irritar” frequency rank
- 25614
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | imitar | irritar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fazer exatamente o que faz uma pessoa ou animal | causar irritação a |
Where the eye mixes imitar and irritar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. imitar runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against irritar's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses imitar with irritar
A purely visual mix-up. imitar (/i.mi.ˈtaɾ/) and irritar (/i.hiˈta(h)/) 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 25614, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
imitar is recorded at frequency rank #12,694, classified as averb, pronounced /i.mi.ˈtaɾ/. irritar is at rank #12,920, tagged as averb, pronounced /i.hiˈta(h)/.
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 25614, this pair ranks #43,675 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of imitar vs irritar
Shared letters: airt. Private to "imitar": m. Private to "irritar": -.
"imitar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "irritar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "imitar" and "irritar" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "imitar" or "irritar" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "imitar" and "irritar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "imitar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "irritar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,675 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "imitar" and "irritar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "incitar vs irritar". 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 #43,675 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.