Which to use
“il” and “ilo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,175
- “il” frequency rank
- #43,641
- “ilo” frequency rank
- 50816
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | il | ilo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Año. | Herramienta |
Where the eye mixes il and ilo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: il vs ilo
A purely visual mix-up. il ([ˈil]) and ilo (/ˈilo/) 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 extra letter(s) - “il” sits inside “ilo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50816, 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]. ilo is at rank #43,641, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈilo/.
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 50816, this pair ranks #101,208 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of il vs ilo
Shared letters: il. Private to "il": -. Private to "ilo": o.
"il" · 2 letters · shape VC · "ilo" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "il" and "ilo" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "il" or "ilo" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "il" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ilo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #101,208 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "il" and "ilo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ilo vs iza". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #101,208 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.