Which to use
“ill” is an adjective and “IRM” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,649
- “ill” frequency rank
- #17,979
- “IRM” frequency rank
- 33628
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ill | IRM |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Malade, malsain. | Technique d’imagerie médicale permettant l’analyse fine du corps humain par l’action d’un champ magnétique et d’ondes radio. |
Where the eye mixes ill and IRM
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ill and IRM
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ill is \ˈɪl\ while IRM is \i.ɛ.ʁɛm\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33628, 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\. IRM is at rank #17,979, tagged as anoun, pronounced \i.ɛ.ʁɛm\.
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 33628, this pair ranks #289,370 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ill vs IRM
Shared letters: i. Private to "ill": l. Private to "IRM": mr.
"ill" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "IRM" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ill" and "IRM" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ill" or "IRM"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ill" and "IRM" 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 "IRM" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #289,370 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ill" and "IRM" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IRM vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #289,370 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.