it'll vs it's, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“it'll” and “it's” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,584
“it'll” frequency rank: #55
“it's” frequency rank: 2639
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	it'll	it's
Definition	Contraction of it + shall.	Contraction of it + is.

Where the eye mixes it'll and it's

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch

it'll

4 ch

it's

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. it'll (/ˈɪtl̩/) and it's (/ɪts/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2639, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

it'll is recorded at frequency rank #2,584, classified as acontraction, pronounced /ˈɪtl̩/. it's is at rank #55, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /ɪts/.

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 2639, this pair ranks #524,451 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of it'll vs it's

Shared letters: it. Private to "it'll": l. Private to "it's": s.

"it'll" · 4 letters · shape VCCC · "it's" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "it'll" and "it's" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈɪtl̩/ versus /ɪts/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "it'll" or "it's"?

"it's" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #55 in our English list, against #2,584 for "it'll". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.