Which to use
“idle” and “ill” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,937
- “idle” frequency rank
- #44,899
- “ill” frequency rank
- 88836
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | idle | ill |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vazio, vago | doente |
Where the eye mixes idle and ill
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses idle with ill
A purely visual mix-up. idle (/ˈaɪd(ə)l/) and ill (/ɪl/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88836, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
idle is recorded at frequency rank #43,937, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈaɪd(ə)l/. 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 88836, this pair ranks #376 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of idle vs ill
Shared letters: il. Private to "idle": de. Private to "ill": -.
"idle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ill" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- idle ← dile · iddle · idel · idlle
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "idle" for "ill" ever safe?
Which is more common, "idle" or "ill"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "idle" 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 #376 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "idle" and "ill" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ill vs ino". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #376 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.