Which to use
“ire” and “isle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,189
- “ire” frequency rank
- #41,260
- “isle” frequency rank
- 64449
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ire | isle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (heftiger) Zorn | die Insel oder kleine Insel |
Where the eye mixes ire and isle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ire runs 3 letters (VCV) against isle's 4 (VCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between ire and isle
A purely visual mix-up. ire ([ˈʌɪə]) and isle ([aɪl]) 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 64449, 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]. isle is at rank #41,260, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aɪl].
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 64449, this pair ranks #641,193 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ire vs isle
Shared letters: ei. Private to "ire": r. Private to "isle": ls.
"ire" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "isle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- isle ← isel · islle · issle · sile
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ire" and "isle" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "ire" or "isle" show up more?
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 "ire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "isle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #641,193 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ire" and "isle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ile vs isle". 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 #641,193 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.