imevsitoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ime is a adjective, ito is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ime” is an adjective and “ito” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,145
“ime” frequency rank
#42,956
“ito” frequency rank
92101
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ime ito
Definition Ma, mon. (se) Noyer, (s') asphyxier, (s') étouffer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ime and ito apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ime
3 ch
ito

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ime is anadjective and itoaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 92101, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ime is recorded at frequency rank #49,145, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈi.me\. ito is at rank #42,956, tagged as averb.

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 92101, this pair ranks #3,269 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ime vs ito

Shared letters: i. Private to "ime": em. Private to "ito": ot.

"ime" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ito" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequency comparison

ime#49,145
ito#42,956

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ime" and "ito" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ime" is an adjective and "ito" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ime" or "ito"?
"ito" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42,956 in our French list, against #49,145 for "ime". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ime vs ito

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “ime”; for a verb, it's “ito”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ime” 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