Which to use
“Irene” is a name and “irren” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,314
- “Irene” frequency rank
- #7,629
- “irren” frequency rank
- 19943
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Irene | irren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | weiblicher Vorname | falsch liegen, einem Fehler aufsitzen, einen Irrtum begehen |
Where the eye mixes Irene and irren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Irene (VCVCV) and irren (VCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: Irene vs irren
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Irene is [ˌiˈʁeːnə] while irren is [ˈɪʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19943, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Irene is recorded at frequency rank #12,314, classified as aname, pronounced [ˌiˈʁeːnə]. 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 19943, this pair ranks #1,902,969 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Irene vs irren
Shared letters: einr. Private to "Irene": -. Private to "irren": -.
"Irene" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "irren" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Irene" and "irren" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Irene" or "irren" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Irene" 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 #1,902,969 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Irene" and "irren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Irene 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 #1,902,969 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.