Which to use
“ice” and “isle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,620
- “ice” frequency rank
- #41,260
- “isle” frequency rank
- 45880
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ice | isle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Eis n | die Insel oder kleine Insel |
Where the eye mixes ice and isle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ice with isle
A purely visual mix-up. ice ([aɪs]) and isle ([aɪl]) 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 45880, 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]. isle is at rank #41,260, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aɪl].
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 45880, this pair ranks #1,337,998 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ice vs isle
Shared letters: ei. Private to "ice": c. Private to "isle": ls.
"ice" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "isle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- isle ← isel · islle · issle · sile
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ice" and "isle" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "ice" or "isle" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "ice" and "isle" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ice" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "isle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,337,998 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ice" and "isle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ile vs isle". 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 #1,337,998 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.