Which to use
“il” is a noun and “ill” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,175
- “il” frequency rank
- #43,059
- “ill” frequency rank
- 50234
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | il | ill |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Año. | Enfermo. |
Where the eye mixes il and ill
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses il with ill
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: il is [ˈil] while ill is /ɪl/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “il” sits inside “ill”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50234, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
il is recorded at frequency rank #7,175, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈil]. 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 50234, this pair ranks #104,344 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of il vs ill
Shared letters: il. Private to "il": -. Private to "ill": -.
"il" · 2 letters · shape VC · "ill" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "il" and "ill" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "il" vs "ill" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "il" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ill" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #104,344 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "il" and "ill" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ill vs iza". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #104,344 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.