Which to use
“ihr” is a pronoun and “ist” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #72
- “ihr” frequency rank
- #7
- “ist” frequency rank
- 79
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ihr | ist |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Plural | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens des Verbs sein |
Where the eye mixes ihr and ist
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ihr is [iːɐ̯] while ist is [ɪst]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ihr is recorded at frequency rank #72, classified as apron, pronounced [iːɐ̯]. ist is at rank #7, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɪst].
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 79, this pair ranks #2,006,288 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ihr vs ist
Shared letters: i. Private to "ihr": hr. Private to "ist": st.
"ihr" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ist" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ihr" and "ist" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ihr" or "ist"?
What to do next
You've compared "ihr" and "ist". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "ihr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ist" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,006,288 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ihr" and "ist" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ihr vs IMs". Nearby pair
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.