ilk vs is, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ilk” is an adjective and “is” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,443
“ilk” frequency rank: #8
“is” frequency rank: 32451
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ilk	is
Definition	Very; same.	third-person singular simple present indicative of be

Where the eye mixes ilk and is

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch

ilk

2 ch

Why the eye confuses ilk with is

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ilk is /ɪlk/ while is is /ɪz/. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ilk is recorded at frequency rank #32,443, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɪlk/. is is at rank #8, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪz/.

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 32451, this pair ranks #337,707 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ilk vs is

Shared letters: i. Private to "ilk": kl. Private to "is": s.

"ilk" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "is" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ilk" and "is" mean the same thing in a sentence?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ilk" is an adjective and "is" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "ilk" or "is"?

"is" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8 in our English list, against #32,443 for "ilk". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "ilk" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "is" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #337,707 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"ilk" and "is" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ilan vs ilk". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #337,707 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.