impvsIonWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“imp” and “Ion” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#44,702
“imp” frequency rank
#22,388
“Ion” frequency rank
67090
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature imp Ion
Definition ein nicht mächtiges Fabelwesen von gedrungener Gestalt; meist grünlich/bräunliche Hautfarbe elektrisch geladenes Teilchen, das aus einem neutralen Atom oder Molekül durch Anlagerung oder Abgabe von Elektronen (Ionisation) entsteht

Where the eye mixes imp and Ion

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

3 ch
imp
3 ch
Ion

Why the eye confuses imp with Ion

A purely visual mix-up. imp ([ɪmp]) and Ion ([iˈoːn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67090, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

imp is recorded at frequency rank #44,702, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɪmp]. Ion is at rank #22,388, tagged as anoun, pronounced [iˈoːn].

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 67090, this pair ranks #551,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of imp vs Ion

Shared letters: i. Private to "imp": mp. Private to "Ion": no.

"imp" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "Ion" · 3 letters · shape VVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "imp" and "Ion" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɪmp] versus [iˈoːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "imp" or "Ion" show up more?
"Ion" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,388 in our German list, against #44,702 for "imp". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "imp" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #551,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "imp" and "Ion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "imp vs IMs". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #551,611 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list