Which to use
“ill” is an adverb and “isle” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,175
- “ill” frequency rank
- #41,260
- “isle” frequency rank
- 66435
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ill | isle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schlecht, falsch | die Insel oder kleine Insel |
Where the eye mixes ill and isle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ill with isle
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ill is [ɪl] while isle is [aɪl]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66435, 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]. isle is at rank #41,260, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aɪl].
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 66435, this pair ranks #573,372 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ill vs isle
Shared letters: il. Private to "ill": -. Private to "isle": es.
"ill" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "isle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- isle ← isel · islle · issle · sile
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ill" and "isle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ill" vs "isle" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ill" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "isle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #573,372 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ill" and "isle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ile vs isle". 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 #573,372 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.