IQ

[iːˈkuː]

/[iːˈkuː]/ abbrev

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

The verdict

“IQ” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #9,573) as an abbreviation. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#9,573
frequency rank, German
1,488
“I” headwords
20
confusable pairs

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

Corpus desk

Index DE-iq · IQ · German

IQ · rank #9,573 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,573
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,488
  • PHOTO-FINISH inwieweit

Nearest frequency peer: inwieweit (-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 “IQ”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “IQ” 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).

IQ vs is
0% similar
IQ vs IT
50% similar
IQ vs ix
0% similar

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

Key facts for IQ
PropertyValue
HeadwordIQ
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAbbreviation
IPA[iːˈkuː]
Letters2
Frequency rank#9,573
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “IQ” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).IQliegt hier:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „inwieweit“ (#9,572), „Jurist“ (#9,574), „inwiefern“ (#9,571). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for IQ is neighbouring look-alikes ("is", "IT", …), not just typos; it is anabbreviation pronounced [iːˈkuː]. Frequency #9,573 among 1,488 “I” headwords. Gloss: "Intelligenzquotient".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for IQ, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "is", "IT", "ix", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is IQ, spelled I-Q.

Definition

  1. 1
    Intelligenzquotient

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Dein IQ ist sehr hoch.
  2. „Man braucht nämlich einen IQ von mindestens hundertdreißig, um sich in dem Labyrinth von Gebäude zurechtzufinden.“

This word in other languages

IQ(English)CI(Español)QI(Français)QI(Português)

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "IQ"?
"IQ" is spelled I-Q. The IPA pronunciation is [iːˈkuː].
What does "IQ" mean?
As an abbreviation, "IQ" means: Intelligenzquotient
What words are commonly confused with "IQ"?
"IQ" is commonly confused with "is", "IT", "ix". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "IQ"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "IQ" is [iːˈkuː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "IQ" come from?
"IQ" 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 "IQ". Here's where to go from here.

  • "IQ" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "is". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #9,573 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