irevsIrisConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#23,189
“ire” frequency rank
#7,773
“Iris” frequency rank
30962
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ire Iris
Definition (heftiger) Zorn (Plural: Iris oder [selten] Iriden, Irides): Regenbogenhaut

Where the eye mixes ire and Iris

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

3 ch
ire
4 ch
Iris

Look-alike desk: ire vs Iris

A purely visual mix-up. ire ([ˈʌɪə]) and Iris ([ˈiːʁɪs]) 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 30962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ire is recorded at frequency rank #23,189, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʌɪə]. Iris is at rank #7,773, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈiːʁɪs].

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 30962, this pair ranks #1,737,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ire vs Iris

Shared letters: ir. Private to "ire": e. Private to "Iris": s.

"ire" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "Iris" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Irisiirs · iriss · irris · irsi · riis

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ire" and "Iris" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʌɪə] versus [ˈiːʁɪs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ire" vs "Iris" - which ranks higher?
"Iris" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,773 in our German list, against #23,189 for "ire". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Iris" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,737,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ire" and "Iris" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IMs vs ire". 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 #1,737,516 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