idemvsIESWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: idem is a pronoun, IES is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“idem” is a pronoun and “IES” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,050
“idem” frequency rank
#21,019
“IES” frequency rank
43069
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature idem IES
Definition Mismo, el mismo. Instituto de Educación Secundaria (España).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set idem and IES apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
idem
3 ch
IES

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: idem is /ˈiː.dem/ while IES is [ˈjes]. 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 (pronoun vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

idem is recorded at frequency rank #22,050, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈiː.dem/. IES is at rank #21,019, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [ˈjes].

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 43069, this pair ranks #144,700 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of idem vs IES

Shared letters: ei. Private to "idem": dm. Private to "IES": s.

"idem" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "IES" · 3 letters · shape VVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • idemiddem · idemm · iedm

Frequency comparison

idem#22,050
IES#21,019

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "idem" and "IES" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "idem" is a pronoun and "IES" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "idem" or "IES"?
"IES" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,019 in our Spanish list, against #22,050 for "idem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering idem vs IES

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “idem”; for an abbrev, it's “IES”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “idem” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list