IMEvsithWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: IME is a noun, ith is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#47,112
“IME” frequency rank
#49,435
“ith” frequency rank
96547
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature IME ith
Definition Initialism of input method editor. Occurring at position i in a sequence.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
IME
3 ch
ith

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: IME is anoun and ithanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96547, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

IME is recorded at frequency rank #47,112, classified as anoun. 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 96547, this pair ranks #531 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of IME vs ith

Shared letters: i. Private to "IME": em. Private to "ith": ht.

"IME" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ith" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Frequency comparison

IME#47,112
ith#49,435

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "IME" and "ith" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "IME" is a noun and "ith" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "IME" or "ith"?
"IME" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #47,112 in our English list, against #49,435 for "ith". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering IME vs ith

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “IME”; for an adjective, it's “ith”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “IME” 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