Which to use
“ill” is an adjective and “ir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,649
- “ill” frequency rank
- #14,065
- “ir” frequency rank
- 29714
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ill | ir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Malade, malsain. | Aller, se déplacer jusqu'à un endroit. |
Where the eye mixes ill and ir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ill vs ir
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ill is \ˈɪl\ while ir is \iɾ\. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29714, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ill is recorded at frequency rank #15,649, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈɪl\. ir is at rank #14,065, tagged as averb, pronounced \iɾ\.
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 29714, this pair ranks #314,952 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ill vs ir
Shared letters: i. Private to "ill": l. Private to "ir": r.
"ill" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ir" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ill" for "ir" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ill" or "ir"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "ill" and "ir" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ill" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #314,952 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ill" and "ir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ill vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #314,952 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.