iam vs ils, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“iam” is a verb and “ils” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,823
“iam” frequency rank: #44,900
“ils” frequency rank: 49723
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	iam	ils
Definition	terceira pessoa do plural do pretérito imperfeito do indicativo do verbo ir	eles

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch

iam

3 ch

ils

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: iam is /ˈi.am/, /ˈi.ɑm/ while ils is \il\. 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 pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49723, 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/. ils is at rank #44,900, tagged as apron, pronounced \il\.

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 49723, this pair ranks #15,267 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of iam vs ils

Shared letters: i. Private to "iam": am. Private to "ils": ls.

"iam" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "ils" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Frequency comparison

iam#4,823

ils#44,900

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "iam" and "ils" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "iam" is a verb and "ils" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "iam" or "ils"?

"iam" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,823 in our Portuguese list, against #44,900 for "ils". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering iam vs ils

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “iam”; for a pronoun, it's “ils”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “iam” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable