ickvsiiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ick is a pronoun, ii is an unknown, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ick” is a pronoun and “ii” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,183
“ick” frequency rank
#520
“ii” frequency rank
16703
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ick ii
Definition unbetontes „ich“ Nominativ Plural Maskulinum des Pronomens is

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
ick
2 ch
ii

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

ick and ii 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 16703, 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]. ii is at rank #520, tagged as anunknown, pronounced […].

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 16703, this pair ranks #1,933,675 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

ick#16,183
ii#520

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ick" and "ii" be used interchangeably?
No, "ick" and "ii" 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 ick vs ii

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “ick”; for an unknown, it's “ii”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ick” 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