iravsirrtConfusable pair

Quick tell: ira is a noun, irrt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ira” is a noun and “irrt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,290
“ira” frequency rank
#20,308
“irrt” frequency rank
38598
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ira irrt
Definition der Zorn, die Wut 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs irren

Where the eye mixes ira and irrt

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

3 ch
ira
4 ch
irrt

Visual trap between ira and irrt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ira is [ˈiːra] while irrt is [ɪʁt]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38598, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ira is recorded at frequency rank #18,290, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈiːra]. irrt is at rank #20,308, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɪʁt].

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 38598, this pair ranks #1,559,748 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ira vs irrt

Shared letters: ir. Private to "ira": a. Private to "irrt": t.

"ira" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "irrt" · 4 letters · shape VCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • irrtirrtt · irt · irtr · rirt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ira" and "irrt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ira" is a noun and "irrt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "ira" or "irrt" show up more?
"ira" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,290 in our German list, against #20,308 for "irrt". 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 "ira" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "irrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,559,748 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ira" and "irrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IMs vs ira". 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 #1,559,748 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