Which to use
“Ilm” is a name and “ist” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,185
- “Ilm” frequency rank
- #7
- “ist” frequency rank
- 34192
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ilm | ist |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Fluss in Deutschland, Nebenfluss der Saale | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens des Verbs sein |
Letter map: Ilm vs ist
Shared letters muted; letters that set Ilm and ist apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - Ilm and ist
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Ilm is aname and istaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34192, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ilm is recorded at frequency rank #34,185, classified as aname, pronounced […]. ist is at rank #7, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɪst].
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 34192, this pair ranks #1,669,000 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ilm vs ist
Shared letters: i. Private to "Ilm": lm. Private to "ist": st.
"Ilm" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ist" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Ilm" and "ist" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Ilm" or "ist" show up more?
After this comparison
Pair "Ilm" vs "ist" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ilm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ist" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,669,000 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ilm" and "ist" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ilm vs puzzles". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,669,000 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.