idavsillWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ida is a noun, ill is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ida” is a noun and “ill” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,318
“ida” frequency rank
#43,059
“ill” frequency rank
48377
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ida ill
Definition Acción o efecto de ir. Enfermo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ida and ill apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ida
3 ch
ill

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ida is [ˈið̞a] while ill is /ɪl/. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ida is recorded at frequency rank #5,318, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈið̞a]. ill is at rank #43,059, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪl/.

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 48377, this pair ranks #114,828 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ida vs ill

Shared letters: i. Private to "ida": ad. Private to "ill": l.

"ida" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ill" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Frequency comparison

ida#5,318
ill#43,059

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ida" and "ill" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ida" is a noun and "ill" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ida" or "ill"?
"ida" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,318 in our Spanish list, against #43,059 for "ill". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ida vs ill

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ida”; for an adjective, it's “ill”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ida” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list