ICDvsIconWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ICD is a abbrev, Icon is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ICD” is an abbrev and “Icon” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,988
“ICD” frequency rank
#23,993
“Icon” frequency rank
60981
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ICD Icon
Definition von der WHO herausgegebene „Internationale statistische Klassifikation der Krankheiten und verwandter Gesundheitsprobleme“ kleine Grafik für Programme oder Hyperlinks

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
ICD
4 ch
Icon

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ICD is [iːtseːˈdeː] while Icon is [ˈaɪ̯kn̩]. 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 (abbrev vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60981, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ICD is recorded at frequency rank #36,988, classified as anabbrev, pronounced [iːtseːˈdeː]. Icon is at rank #23,993, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯kn̩].

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 60981, this pair ranks #766,719 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ICD vs Icon

Shared letters: ci. Private to "ICD": d. Private to "Icon": no.

"ICD" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "Icon" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Iconcion · iccon · icno · iconn · iocn

Frequency comparison

ICD#36,988
Icon#23,993

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ICD" and "Icon" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ICD" is an abbrev and "Icon" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ICD" or "Icon"?
"Icon" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,993 in our German list, against #36,988 for "ICD". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ICD vs Icon

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an abbrev, it's “ICD”; for a noun, it's “Icon”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ICD” 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