ilesvsislesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“iles” and “isles” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,699
“iles” frequency rank
#36,912
“isles” frequency rank
51611
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature iles isles
Definition Parties latérales et inférieures du bas-ventre. Pluriel de isle.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set iles and isles apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
iles
5 ch
isles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. iles (\i.lɛs\) and isles (\il\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51611, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

iles is recorded at frequency rank #14,699, classified as anoun, pronounced \i.lɛs\. isles is at rank #36,912, tagged as anoun, 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 51611, this pair ranks #153,729 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of iles vs isles

Shared letters: eils. Private to "iles": -. Private to "isles": -.

"iles" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "isles" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ilesiels · iless · illes
  • islesilses · isels · isless · islles · islse · issles · siles

Frequency comparison

iles#14,699
isles#36,912

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "iles" and "isles" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\i.lɛs\ versus \il\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "iles" or "isles"?
"iles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,699 in our French list, against #36,912 for "isles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering iles vs isles

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “iles” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list