iba vs is, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“iba” and “is” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#500
“iba” frequency rank: #2,727
“is” frequency rank: 3227
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	iba	is
Definition	Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de ir o de irse.	Tercera persona del singular (he, she, it) del presente simple de be.

Where the eye mixes iba and is

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

3 ch

iba

2 ch

Visual trap between iba and is

A purely visual mix-up. iba ([ˈiβ̞a]) and is (/ɪz/) 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 3227, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

iba is recorded at frequency rank #500, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈiβ̞a]. is is at rank #2,727, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪz/.

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 3227, this pair ranks #318,770 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of iba vs is

Shared letters: i. Private to "iba": ab. Private to "is": s.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "iba" and "is" be used interchangeably?

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

In ordinary Spanish text, does "iba" or "is" show up more?

"iba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #500 in our Spanish list, against #2,727 for "is". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

Full dictionary entry for "iba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "is" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #318,770 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"iba" and "is" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "is vs iza". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #318,770 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.