imitar
/imiˈtaɾ/ · B2 · verb
to imitate, to mimic, to ape, to copy, to copycat, to impersonate, to simulate
🦜🐒 imitar = I'm + it + are: 'I'm it, are' — I become the thing I copy
Sound-alike hook: i-mi-TAR sounds like 'I'm a tar', as in someone who sticks to another person like tar and repeats what they do. Related to English imitate, from the same Latin root imitari, so the meaning carries over directly.