iesvsittWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ies is a noun, itt is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ies” is a noun and “itt” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,988
“ies” frequency rank
#25,431
“itt” frequency rank
71419
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ies itt
Definition plural of i, the name of the letter I. Obsolete spelling of it.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ies and itt apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ies
3 ch
itt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ies is anoun and ittapronoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71419, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ies is recorded at frequency rank #45,988, classified as anoun. itt is at rank #25,431, tagged as apron.

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 71419, this pair ranks #46,804 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ies vs itt

Shared letters: i. Private to "ies": es. Private to "itt": t.

"ies" · 3 letters · shape VVC  ·  "itt" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Frequency comparison

ies#45,988
itt#25,431

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ies" and "itt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ies" is a noun and "itt" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ies" or "itt"?
"itt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,431 in our English list, against #45,988 for "ies". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ies vs itt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ies”; for a pronoun, it's “itt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ies” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list