IonvsISBNTell them apart

Which to use

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

#22,388
“Ion” frequency rank
#6,075
“ISBN” frequency rank
28463
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ion ISBN
Definition elektrisch geladenes Teilchen, das aus einem neutralen Atom oder Molekül durch Anlagerung oder Abgabe von Elektronen (Ionisation) entsteht 10- oder 13-stellige Nummer zur eindeutigen Kennzeichnung von Büchern, die seit 1973 jedes Buch erhält

Where the eye mixes Ion and ISBN

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
Ion
4 ch
ISBN

Look-alike desk: Ion vs ISBN

A purely visual mix-up. Ion ([iˈoːn]) and ISBN ([iːʔɛsbeːˈʔɛn]) 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 28463, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ion is recorded at frequency rank #22,388, classified as anoun, pronounced [iˈoːn]. ISBN is at rank #6,075, tagged as anoun, pronounced [iːʔɛsbeːˈʔɛn].

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 28463, this pair ranks #1,784,325 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ion vs ISBN

Shared letters: in. Private to "Ion": o. Private to "ISBN": bs.

"Ion" · 3 letters · shape VVC  ·  "ISBN" · 4 letters · shape VCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ISBNibsn · isbbn · isbnn · isnb · issbn · sibn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ion" and "ISBN" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([iˈoːn] versus [iːʔɛsbeːˈʔɛn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Ion" or "ISBN" show up more?
"ISBN" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,075 in our German list, against #22,388 for "Ion". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ISBN" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,784,325 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ion" and "ISBN" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IMs vs Ion". 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 #1,784,325 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