ibavsimWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: iba is a verb, im is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#500
“iba” frequency rank
#10,152
“im” frequency rank
10652
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Letter map: iba vs im

Shared letters muted; letters that set iba and im apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
iba
2 ch
im

Grammar separator: iba vs im

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: iba is averb and imanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10652, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

iba is recorded at frequency rank #500, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈiβ̞a]. im is at rank #10,152, tagged as anadj.

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 10652, this pair ranks #297,876 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of iba vs im

Shared letters: i. Private to "iba": ab. Private to "im": m.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "iba" and "im" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "iba" is a verb and "im" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "iba" vs "im" - which ranks higher?
"iba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #500 in our Spanish list, against #10,152 for "im". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "iba" and "im".

  • Full dictionary entry for "iba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "im" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #297,876 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "iba" and "im" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "im vs iza". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #297,876 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