ibavsilWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: iba is a verb, il is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“iba” is a verb and “il” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#500
“iba” frequency rank
#7,175
“il” frequency rank
7675
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature iba il
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de ir o de irse. Año.

Where the eye mixes iba and il

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

3 ch
iba
2 ch
il

Visual trap between iba and il

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: iba is [ˈiβ̞a] while il is [ˈil]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7675, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

iba is recorded at frequency rank #500, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈiβ̞a]. il is at rank #7,175, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈil].

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 7675, this pair ranks #307,277 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of iba vs il

Shared letters: i. Private to "iba": ab. Private to "il": l.

"iba" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "il" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "iba" and "il" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "iba" is a verb and "il" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "iba" or "il"?
"iba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #500 in our Spanish list, against #7,175 for "il". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "iba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "il" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #307,277 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "iba" and "il" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "il vs iza". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #307,277 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list