Which to use
“ices” and “ies” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,810
- “ices” frequency rank
- #45,988
- “ies” frequency rank
- 94798
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ices | ies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of ice | plural of i, the name of the letter I. |
Letter map: ices vs ies
Shared letters muted; letters that set ices and ies apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. ices runs 4 letters (VCVC) against ies's 3 (VVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Pair insight - ices / ies
ices and ies are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 94798, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ices is recorded at frequency rank #48,810, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɪsɪz/. ies is at rank #45,988, tagged as anoun.
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 94798, this pair ranks #1,238 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ices vs ies
Shared letters: eis. Private to "ices": c. Private to "ies": -.
"ices" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "ies" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ices ← cies · icces · icess · icse · iecs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ices" for "ies" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ices" or "ies"?
Useful next steps
Pair "ices" vs "ies" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "ices" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,238 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ices" and "ies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ices vs ICJ". 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 #1,238 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.