Which to use
“ibn” is a noun and “ils” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,014
- “ibn” frequency rank
- #54
- “ils” frequency rank
- 10068
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ibn | ils |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mot Arabe signifiant fils. | Pronom clitique de la troisième personne du pluriel sujet, quand on parle d’un groupe d’hommes et de femmes ou de choses grammaticalement masculines et féminines. |
Where the eye mixes ibn and ils
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ibn with ils
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ibn is \i.bøn\ while ils is \il\. 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 pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10068, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ibn is recorded at frequency rank #10,014, classified as anoun, pronounced \i.bøn\. ils is at rank #54, tagged as apron, pronounced \il\.
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 10068, this pair ranks #414,335 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ibn vs ils
Shared letters: i. Private to "ibn": bn. Private to "ils": ls.
"ibn" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ils" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ibn" and "ils" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "ibn" or "ils" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ibn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ils" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #414,335 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ibn" and "ils" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ibn vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #414,335 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.