Which to use
“iam” is a verb and “ill” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,823
- “iam” frequency rank
- #44,899
- “ill” frequency rank
- 49722
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | iam | ill |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do plural do pretérito imperfeito do indicativo do verbo ir | doente |
Where the eye mixes iam and ill
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses iam with ill
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: iam is /ˈi.am/, /ˈi.ɑm/ while ill is /ɪl/. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49722, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
iam is recorded at frequency rank #4,823, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈi.am/, /ˈi.ɑm/. ill is at rank #44,899, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪl/.
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 49722, this pair ranks #15,269 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of iam vs ill
Shared letters: i. Private to "iam": am. Private to "ill": l.
"iam" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "ill" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "iam" and "ill" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "iam" or "ill" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "iam" and "ill" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "iam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ill" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,269 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "iam" and "ill" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ill vs ino". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #15,269 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.