Which to use
“ick” and “ihm” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,183
- “ick” frequency rank
- #137
- “ihm” frequency rank
- 16320
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ick | ihm |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unbetontes „ich“ | Personalpronomen 3. Person Maskulinum Singular Dativ |
Where the eye mixes ick and ihm
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ick vs ihm
A purely visual mix-up. ick ([ɪk]) and ihm ([iːm]) 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 16320, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ick is recorded at frequency rank #16,183, classified as apron, pronounced [ɪk]. ihm is at rank #137, tagged as apron, pronounced [iːm].
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 16320, this pair ranks #1,936,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ick vs ihm
Shared letters: i. Private to "ick": ck. Private to "ihm": hm.
"ick" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ihm" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ick" and "ihm" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "ick" or "ihm" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ick" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ihm" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,936,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ick" and "ihm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ick vs IMs". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,936,819 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.