Which to use
“ice” is a noun and “ihn” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,620
- “ice” frequency rank
- #140
- “ihn” frequency rank
- 4760
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ice | ihn |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Eis n | Personalpronomen 3. Person Maskulinum Singular Akkusativ |
Where the eye mixes ice and ihn
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ice and ihn
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ice is [aɪs] while ihn is [iːn]. 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 (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ice is recorded at frequency rank #4,620, classified as anoun, pronounced [aɪs]. ihn is at rank #140, tagged as apron, pronounced [iːn].
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 4760, this pair ranks #1,996,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ice vs ihn
Shared letters: i. Private to "ice": ce. Private to "ihn": hn.
"ice" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ihn" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ice" for "ihn" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "ice" or "ihn" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ice" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ihn" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,996,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ice" and "ihn" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ice vs IMs". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,996,753 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.