Which to use
“ick” is a pronoun and “IMs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,183
- “ick” frequency rank
- #49,797
- “IMs” frequency rank
- 65980
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ick | IMs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unbetontes „ich“ | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs IM |
Where the eye mixes ick and IMs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ick vs IMs
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ick is [ɪk] while IMs is [iˈʔɛms]. 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 (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65980, 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]. IMs is at rank #49,797, tagged as anoun, pronounced [iˈʔɛms].
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 65980, this pair ranks #588,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ick vs IMs
Shared letters: i. Private to "ick": ck. Private to "IMs": ms.
"ick" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "IMs" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ick" for "IMs" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ick" vs "IMs" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ick" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "IMs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #588,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ick" and "IMs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ile vs IMs". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #588,547 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.