Which to use
“ick” is a pronoun and “ink” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,183
- “ick” frequency rank
- #45,363
- “ink” frequency rank
- 61546
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ick | ink |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unbetontes „ich“ | Tinte |
Where the eye mixes ick and ink
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ick with ink
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ick is [ɪk] while ink is [ɪŋk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “ick” becomes n in “ink”, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61546, 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]. ink is at rank #45,363, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɪŋk].
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 61546, this pair ranks #745,739 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ick vs ink
Shared letters: ik. Private to "ick": c. Private to "ink": n.
"ick" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ink" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ick" for "ink" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "ick" or "ink" show up more?
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 "ink" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #745,739 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ick" and "ink" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IMs vs ink". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #745,739 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.