Which to use
“isla” is a noun and “ist” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #939
- “isla” frequency rank
- #41,994
- “ist” frequency rank
- 42933
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | isla | ist |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Territorio rodeado completamente por agua. | Tercera persona del singular (er, sie, es) del presente de indicativo de sein. |
Where the eye mixes isla and ist
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses isla with ist
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: isla is [ˈisla] while ist is /ɪst/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42933, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
isla is recorded at frequency rank #939, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈisla]. ist is at rank #41,994, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪst/.
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 42933, this pair ranks #145,472 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of isla vs ist
Shared letters: is. Private to "isla": al. Private to "ist": t.
"isla" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ist" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- isla ← ilsa · isal · islla · issla
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "isla" and "ist" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "isla" or "ist"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "isla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ist" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #145,472 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "isla" and "ist" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ist vs iza". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #145,472 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.