Which to use
“IMO” is an abbrev and “ire” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,299
- “IMO” frequency rank
- #23,189
- “ire” frequency rank
- 44488
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | IMO | ire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Institut für Marktökologie (Sitz in der Schweiz) | (heftiger) Zorn |
Where the eye mixes IMO and ire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: IMO vs ire
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: IMO is [ˌiːɛmˈʔoː] while ire is [ˈʌɪə]. 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 (abbrev vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44488, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
IMO is recorded at frequency rank #21,299, classified as anabbrev, pronounced [ˌiːɛmˈʔoː]. 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 44488, this pair ranks #1,384,614 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of IMO vs ire
Shared letters: i. Private to "IMO": mo. Private to "ire": er.
"IMO" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ire" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "IMO" for "ire" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "IMO" or "ire" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "IMO" 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 #1,384,614 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "IMO" and "ire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IMs vs ire". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,384,614 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.