Which to use
“ilk” and “ith” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,443
- “ilk” frequency rank
- #49,435
- “ith” frequency rank
- 81878
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ilk | ith |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Very; same. | Occurring at position i in a sequence. |
Where the eye mixes ilk and ith
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. ilk and ith follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: ilk vs ith
A purely visual mix-up. ilk (/ɪlk/) and ith (/aɪθ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81878, 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/. ith is at rank #49,435, tagged as anadj, pronounced /aɪθ/.
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 81878, this pair ranks #16,792 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ilk vs ith
Shared letters: i. Private to "ilk": kl. Private to "ith": ht.
"ilk" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ith" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ilk" for "ith" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ilk" vs "ith" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ilk" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ith" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #16,792 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ilk" and "ith" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ISR vs ith". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #16,792 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.