Which to use
“ice” is a noun and “iss” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,620
- “ice” frequency rank
- #6,551
- “iss” frequency rank
- 11171
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ice | iss |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Eis n | 2. Person Singular Imperativ des Verbs essen |
Where the eye mixes ice and iss
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ice with iss
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ice is [aɪs] while iss is [ɪs]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11171, 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]. iss is at rank #6,551, 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 11171, this pair ranks #1,971,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ice vs iss
Shared letters: i. Private to "ice": ce. Private to "iss": s.
"ice" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "iss" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ice" for "iss" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ice" vs "iss" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ice" and "iss" 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 "iss" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,971,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ice" and "iss" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IMs vs iss". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,971,306 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.