icesvsinnsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“ices” and “inns” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#48,810
“ices” frequency rank
#26,838
“inns” frequency rank
75648
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ices inns
Definition plural of ice plural of inn

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ices and inns apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
ices
4 ch
inns

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ices (/ˈaɪsɪz/) and inns (/ɪnz/) 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 75648, 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/. inns is at rank #26,838, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪnz/.

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 75648, this pair ranks #32,499 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ices vs inns

Shared letters: is. Private to "ices": ce. Private to "inns": n.

"ices" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "inns" · 4 letters · shape VCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • icescies · icces · icess · icse · iecs
  • innsinnss · insn · nins

Frequency comparison

ices#48,810
inns#26,838

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ices" and "inns" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈaɪsɪz/ versus /ɪnz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ices" or "inns"?
"inns" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,838 in our English list, against #48,810 for "ices". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ices vs inns

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ices” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list