IB

[aɪ̯ˈbiː]

/[aɪ̯ˈbiː]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“IB” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #13,398) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#13,398
frequency rank, German
1,488
“I” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - indischer Inlandsgeheimdienst

Corpus desk

Index DE-ib · IB · German

IB · rank #13,398 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,398
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,488
  • PHOTO-FINISH Hörbuch

Nearest frequency peer: Hörbuch (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “IB”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “IB” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

IB vs im
0% similar
IB vs is
0% similar
IB vs ii
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for IB
PropertyValue
HeadwordIB
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[aɪ̯ˈbiː]
Letters2
Frequency rank#13,398
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “IB” sits in German frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).IB lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for IB is neighbouring look-alikes ("im", "is", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [aɪ̯ˈbiː]. Frequency #13,398 among 1,488 “I” headwords. Gloss: "indischer Inlandsgeheimdienst".

No misspelling variants are generated for IB in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "im", "is", "ii", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is IB, spelled I-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    indischer Inlandsgeheimdienst

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how IB appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „›Ich weiß es nicht, Sartaj. Aber sei vorsichtig. Soweit ich weiß, interessiert sich auch das IB für diese Gaitonde-Sache.‹“

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "IB"?
"IB" is spelled I-B. The IPA pronunciation is [aɪ̯ˈbiː].
What does "IB" mean?
As a noun, "IB" means: indischer Inlandsgeheimdienst
What words are commonly confused with "IB"?
"IB" is commonly confused with "im", "is", "ii". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "IB"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "IB" is [aɪ̯ˈbiː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "IB" come from?
"IB" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

What to do next

You've looked up "IB". Here's where to go from here.

  • "IB" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "im". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #13,398 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "I" letter cohort. I–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list