Which to use
“Igel” and “ire” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,658
- “Igel” frequency rank
- #23,189
- “ire” frequency rank
- 38847
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Igel | ire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | stachelhäutiges Säugetier aus der Familie Erinaceidae | (heftiger) Zorn |
Where the eye mixes Igel and ire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Igel with ire
A purely visual mix-up. Igel ([ˈiːɡl̩]) and ire ([ˈʌɪə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38847, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Igel is recorded at frequency rank #15,658, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈiːɡl̩]. ire is at rank #23,189, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʌɪə].
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 38847, this pair ranks #1,553,057 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Igel vs ire
Shared letters: ei. Private to "Igel": gl. Private to "ire": r.
"Igel" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "ire" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Igel ← iegl · igell · iggel · igle
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Igel" and "ire" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Igel" or "ire" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Igel" and "ire" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Igel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,553,057 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Igel" and "ire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IMs vs ire". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,553,057 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.