Which to use
“ill” is an adverb and “im” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,175
- “ill” frequency rank
- #17
- “im” frequency rank
- 25192
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ill | im |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schlecht, falsch | Position innerhalb einer genannten Zeitspanne - wann? |
Where the eye mixes ill and im
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ill and im
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ill is [ɪl] while im is [ɪm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25192, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ill is recorded at frequency rank #25,175, classified as anadv, pronounced [ɪl]. im is at rank #17, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [ɪm].
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 25192, this pair ranks #1,836,832 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ill vs im
Shared letters: i. Private to "ill": l. Private to "im": m.
"ill" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "im" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ill" and "im" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "ill" or "im" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ill" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "im" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,836,832 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ill" and "im" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ill vs IMs". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,836,832 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.