ICQ vs is, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ICQ” is an abbrev and “is” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,240
“ICQ” frequency rank: #478
“is” frequency rank: 48718
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ICQ	is
Definition	ein Instant-Messenger-Dienst	[1] umgangssprachlich, dialektal, norddeutsch: 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens des Verbs sein

Where the eye mixes ICQ and is

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch

ICQ

2 ch

Visual trap between ICQ and is

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ICQ is [ˌaɪsiːˈkɪ̯uː] while is is [ɪs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (abbrev vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48718, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ICQ is recorded at frequency rank #48,240, classified as anabbrev, pronounced [ˌaɪsiːˈkɪ̯uː]. is is at rank #478, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɪs].

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 48718, this pair ranks #1,238,231 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ICQ vs is

Shared letters: i. Private to "ICQ": cq. Private to "is": s.

"ICQ" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "is" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ICQ" and "is" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ICQ" is an abbrev and "is" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "ICQ" or "is"?

"is" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #478 in our German list, against #48,240 for "ICQ". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "ICQ" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "is" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #1,238,231 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"ICQ" and "is" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ICQ vs IMs". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,238,231 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.