ikkivsimiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ikki is a adverb, imi is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#47,410
“ikki” frequency rank
#47,938
“imi” frequency rank
95348
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ikki imi
Definition não: terceira pessoa do singular do passado do indicativo do verbo imeä:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ikki and imi apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
ikki
3 ch
imi

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ikki is /ˈɪ.ʧɪ/, /ˈɪʰ.ʧɪ/, /ˈɪʰʧ/ while imi is /ˈi.mi/. 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 95348, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ikki is recorded at frequency rank #47,410, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈɪ.ʧɪ/, /ˈɪʰ.ʧɪ/, /ˈɪʰʧ/. imi is at rank #47,938, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈi.mi/.

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 95348, this pair ranks #69 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ikki vs imi

Shared letters: i. Private to "ikki": k. Private to "imi": m.

"ikki" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "imi" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ikkiiki · ikik · kiki

Frequency comparison

ikki#47,410
imi#47,938

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ikki" and "imi" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ikki" is an adverb and "imi" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ikki" or "imi"?
"ikki" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #47,410 in our Portuguese list, against #47,938 for "imi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ikki vs imi

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “ikki”; for a verb, it's “imi”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ikki” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list