ISBNvsIstsTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,075
“ISBN” frequency rank
#14,331
“Ists” frequency rank
20406
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ISBN Ists
Definition 10- oder 13-stellige Nummer zur eindeutigen Kennzeichnung von Büchern, die seit 1973 jedes Buch erhält Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Ist

Where the eye mixes ISBN and Ists

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

4 ch
ISBN
4 ch
Ists

Why the eye confuses ISBN with Ists

A purely visual mix-up. ISBN ([iːʔɛsbeːˈʔɛn]) and Ists ([ɪst͡s]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ISBN is recorded at frequency rank #6,075, classified as anoun, pronounced [iːʔɛsbeːˈʔɛn]. Ists is at rank #14,331, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɪst͡s].

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 20406, this pair ranks #1,898,025 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ISBN vs Ists

Shared letters: is. Private to "ISBN": bn. Private to "Ists": t.

"ISBN" · 4 letters · shape VCCC  ·  "Ists" · 4 letters · shape VCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ISBNibsn · isbbn · isbnn · isnb · issbn · sibn
  • Istsissts · istss · istts · itss · sits

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ISBN" and "Ists" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([iːʔɛsbeːˈʔɛn] versus [ɪst͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ISBN" vs "Ists" - which ranks higher?
"ISBN" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,075 in our German list, against #14,331 for "Ists". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "ISBN" and "Ists" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ISBN" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ists" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,898,025 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ISBN" and "Ists" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IMs vs Ists". 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 #1,898,025 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