icevsisWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ice is a noun, is is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ice” is a noun and “is” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,620
“ice” frequency rank
#478
“is” frequency rank
5098
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ice is
Definition Eis n [1] umgangssprachlich, dialektal, norddeutsch: 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens des Verbs sein

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ice and is apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ice
2 ch
is

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

ice and is form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5098, 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]. is is at rank #478, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɪs].

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 5098, this pair ranks #1,995,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

ice#4,620
is#478

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ice" and "is" be used interchangeably?
No, "ice" and "is" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering ice vs is

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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