IchsvsIrisTell them apart

Which to use

“Ichs” and “Iris” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,807
“Ichs” frequency rank
#7,773
“Iris” frequency rank
14580
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ichs Iris
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Ich (Plural: Iris oder [selten] Iriden, Irides): Regenbogenhaut

Where the eye mixes Ichs and Iris

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Ichs
4 ch
Iris

Visual trap between Ichs and Iris

A purely visual mix-up. Ichs ([ɪçs]) and Iris ([ˈiːʁɪs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14580, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ichs is recorded at frequency rank #6,807, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɪçs]. Iris is at rank #7,773, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈiːʁɪs].

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 14580, this pair ranks #1,950,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ichs vs Iris

Shared letters: is. Private to "Ichs": ch. Private to "Iris": r.

"Ichs" · 4 letters · shape VCCC  ·  "Iris" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ichscihs · icchs · ichhs · ichss · icsh · ihcs
  • Irisiirs · iriss · irris · irsi · riis

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Ichs" for "Iris" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɪçs] versus [ˈiːʁɪs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Ichs" or "Iris" show up more?
"Ichs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,807 in our German list, against #7,773 for "Iris". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ichs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Iris" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,950,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ichs" and "Iris" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IMs vs Iris". 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 #1,950,219 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list