iavsiciWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ia is a verb, ici is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ia” is a verb and “ici” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#600
“ia” frequency rank
#45,880
“ici” frequency rank
46480
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ia ici
Definition primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito imperfeito do indicativo do verbo ir aqui

Where the spellings diverge

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

2 ch
ia
3 ch
ici

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ia is /ˈi.ɐ/ while ici is \i.si\. 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 (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46480, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ia is recorded at frequency rank #600, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈi.ɐ/. ici is at rank #45,880, tagged as anadv, pronounced \i.si\.

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 46480, this pair ranks #18,810 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ia vs ici

Shared letters: i. Private to "ia": a. Private to "ici": c.

"ia" · 2 letters · shape VV  ·  "ici" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequency comparison

ia#600
ici#45,880

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ia" and "ici" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ia" is a verb and "ici" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ia" or "ici"?
"ia" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #600 in our Portuguese list, against #45,880 for "ici". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering ia vs ici

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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