Which to use
“if” is a noun and “ii” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,069
- “if” frequency rank
- #627
- “ii” frequency rank
- 7696
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | if | ii |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Arbre sempervirent de la famille des taxacées, à feuilles persistantes longues, étroites, vénéneuses, d’un vert très sombre, à fausses baies rouges, utilisé comme arbre d’ornement dans les parcs, les jardins, les cimetières, et plus spécialement l’if commun (Taxus baccata). | Oui. |
Where the eye mixes if and ii
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: if vs ii
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: if is \if\ while ii is \iː\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - f in “if” becomes i in “ii”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7696, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
if is recorded at frequency rank #7,069, classified as anoun, pronounced \if\. ii is at rank #627, tagged as anadv, pronounced \iː\.
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 7696, this pair ranks #422,419 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of if vs ii
Shared letters: i. Private to "if": f. Private to "ii": -.
"if" · 2 letters · shape VC · "ii" · 2 letters · shape VV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "if" and "ii" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "if" or "ii" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "if" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ii" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #422,419 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "if" and "ii" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "if vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #422,419 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.