IMEvsipsConfusable pair

Quick tell: IME is a noun, ips is a symbol, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“IME” is a noun and “ips” is a symbol - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,112
“IME” frequency rank
#20,676
“ips” frequency rank
67788
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature IME ips
Definition Initialism of input method editor. Initialism of inch(es) per second.

Letter map: IME vs ips

Shared letters muted; letters that set IME and ips apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
IME
3 ch
ips

Role in the sentence - IME and ips

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: IME is anoun and ipsasymbol. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67788, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

IME is recorded at frequency rank #47,112, classified as anoun. ips is at rank #20,676, tagged as asymbol.

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 67788, this pair ranks #61,745 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of IME vs ips

Shared letters: i. Private to "IME": em. Private to "ips": ps.

"IME" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ips" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "IME" and "ips" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "IME" is a noun and "ips" a symbol, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "IME" vs "ips" - which ranks higher?
"ips" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,676 in our English list, against #47,112 for "IME". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "IME" and "ips". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "IME" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ips" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #61,745 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "IME" and "ips" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IME vs ith". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #61,745 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list