iam vs is, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“iam” and “is” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,823
“iam” frequency rank: #1,709
“is” frequency rank: 6532
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	iam	is
Definition	terceira pessoa do plural do pretérito imperfeito do indicativo do verbo ir	contração de agus; e

Letter map: iam vs is

Shared letters muted; letters that set iam and is apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch

iam

2 ch

Corpus notes: iam and is

iam and is are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6532, 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/. is is at rank #1,709, 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 6532, this pair ranks #67,879 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of iam vs is

Shared letters: i. Private to "iam": am. Private to "is": s.

"iam" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "is" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Frequency check: "iam" vs "is" - which ranks higher?

"is" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,709 in our Portuguese list, against #4,823 for "iam". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "iam" and "is".

Full dictionary entry for "iam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "is" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #67,879 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"iam" and "is" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "iam vs ino". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #67,879 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.