Which to use
“Iran” is a name and “irren” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,050
- “Iran” frequency rank
- #7,629
- “irren” frequency rank
- 10679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Iran | irren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Staat in Vorderasien | falsch liegen, einem Fehler aufsitzen, einen Irrtum begehen |
Where the eye mixes Iran and irren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Iran runs 4 letters (VCVC) against irren's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Iran and irren
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Iran is [iˈʁaːn] while irren is [ˈɪʁən]. 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 (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Iran is recorded at frequency rank #3,050, classified as aname, pronounced [iˈʁaːn]. irren is at rank #7,629, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɪʁən].
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 10679, this pair ranks #1,973,895 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Iran vs irren
Shared letters: inr. Private to "Iran": a. Private to "irren": e.
"Iran" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "irren" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Iran" for "irren" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Iran" vs "irren" - which ranks higher?
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 "Iran" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "irren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,973,895 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Iran" and "irren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "irren vs irrte". 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 #1,973,895 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.