idesvsinnsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#44,856
“ides” frequency rank
#26,838
“inns” frequency rank
71694
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ides inns
Definition The notional full-moon day of a Roman month, occurring on the 15th day of the four original 31-day months (March, May, Quintilis or July, and October) and on the 13th day of all other months. plural of inn

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
ides
4 ch
inns

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ides (/aɪdz/) 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 71694, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ides is recorded at frequency rank #44,856, classified as anoun, pronounced /aɪdz/. 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 71694, this pair ranks #45,785 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ides vs inns

Shared letters: is. Private to "ides": de. Private to "inns": n.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • idesiddes · idess · idse · ieds
  • innsinnss · insn · nins

Frequency comparison

ides#44,856
inns#26,838

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ides" and "inns" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/aɪdz/ versus /ɪnz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ides" or "inns"?
"inns" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,838 in our English list, against #44,856 for "ides". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ides 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 “ides” 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