irre

[ˈɪʁə]

/[ˈɪʁə]/ adj

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

The verdict

“irre” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #4,524) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#4,524
frequency rank, German
1,488
“I” headwords
2
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - an einer Störung oder Fehlleistung des Geistes- und Seelenlebens (= Geisteskrankheit) leidend

Corpus desk

Index DE-irre · irre · German

irre · rank #4,524 · 2 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,524
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 2 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,488
  • PHOTO-FINISH Intelligenz

Nearest frequency peer: Intelligenz (-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 “irre”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “irre” 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).

irre vs irrt
75% similar
irre vs isle
50% similar
irre vs irren
80% similar

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

Key facts for irre
PropertyValue
Headwordirre
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈɪʁə]
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,524
Misspellings tracked2
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “irre” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). irre lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for irre is neighbouring look-alikes ("irrt", "isle", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced [ˈɪʁə]. Frequency #4,524 among 1,488 “I” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 2 likely wrong-spelling variants for irre, including "irer" and "rire". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "irrt", "isle", "irren", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is irre, spelled I-R-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    an einer Störung oder Fehlleistung des Geistes- und Seelenlebens (= Geisteskrankheit) leidend
  2. 2
    sehr gut und beeindruckend
  3. 3
    sehr, sehr groß, sehr bedeutend, sehr wichtig
  4. 4
    nicht mehr so gut konzentriert, verwirrt

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Sie hat zu viele Drogen genommen und ist davon irre geworden.
  2. Der neue Film von Lucas ist einfach irre.

Synonyms

irrsinniggeisteskrankgeistesgestörtwahnsinnigverrücktklassetollenormsehrkirreverrückt

This word in other languages

crazy(English)loco(Español)fou(Français)louco(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • irer
  • rire

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of irre - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

irer2rire2
Edit distance from "irre"

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 "irre"?
"irre" is spelled I-R-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈɪʁə].
What does "irre" mean?
As an adjective, "irre" means: an einer Störung oder Fehlleistung des Geistes- und Seelenlebens (= Geisteskrankheit) leidend
What words are commonly confused with "irre"?
"irre" is commonly confused with "irrt", "isle", "irren". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "irre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "irre" is [ˈɪʁə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "irre" come from?
"irre" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "irre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Jena#4,525grau#4,519Linz#4,534Mary#4,536

What to do next

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

  • "irre" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "irrt". View pair
  • 2 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #4,524 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