ibavsIusWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#500
“iba” frequency rank
#43,081
“Ius” frequency rank
43581
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes iba and Ius

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

3 ch
iba
3 ch
Ius

Why the eye confuses iba with Ius

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: iba is [ˈiβ̞a] while Ius is [ˈjus]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43581, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

iba is recorded at frequency rank #500, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈiβ̞a]. Ius is at rank #43,081, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈjus].

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 43581, this pair ranks #141,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of iba vs Ius

Shared letters: i. Private to "iba": ab. Private to "Ius": su.

"iba" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "Ius" · 3 letters · shape VVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "iba" for "Ius" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "iba" is a verb and "Ius" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "iba" vs "Ius" - which ranks higher?
"iba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #500 in our Spanish list, against #43,081 for "Ius". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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 "Ius" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #141,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "iba" and "Ius" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ius vs iza". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #141,888 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