Which to use
“intim” is an adjective and “item” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,133
- “intim” frequency rank
- #16,743
- “item” frequency rank
- 46876
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intim | item |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vertraut, eng verbunden, innerst, innerlichst | auf die gleiche Weise |
Where the eye mixes intim and item
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. intim runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against item's 4 (VCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: intim vs item
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intim is [ɪnˈtiːm] while item is [ˈiːtɛm]. 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 (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intim is recorded at frequency rank #30,133, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɪnˈtiːm]. item is at rank #16,743, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈiːtɛm].
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 46876, this pair ranks #1,303,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of intim vs item
Shared letters: imt. Private to "intim": n. Private to "item": e.
"intim" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "item" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "intim" for "item" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "intim" or "item" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "intim" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "item" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,303,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intim" and "item" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Interim vs intim". 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 #1,303,900 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.