Which to use
“ile” is a noun and “ill” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,925
- “ile” frequency rank
- #15,649
- “ill” frequency rank
- 19574
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ile | ill |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Espace de terre entouré d’eau de tous côtés. | Malade, malsain. |
Where the eye mixes ile and ill
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ile with ill
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ile is \il\ while ill is \ˈɪl\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “ile” becomes l in “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 19574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ile is recorded at frequency rank #3,925, classified as anoun, pronounced \il\. ill is at rank #15,649, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈɪl\.
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 19574, this pair ranks #372,591 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ile vs ill
Shared letters: il. Private to "ile": e. Private to "ill": -.
"ile" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ill" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ile" and "ill" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ile" or "ill"?
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 "ile" 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 #372,591 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ile" and "ill" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ill vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #372,591 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.