Which to use
“iris” is a noun and “is” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,228
- “iris” frequency rank
- #8
- “is” frequency rank
- 10236
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | iris | is |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A plant of the genus Iris, common in the northern hemisphere, and generally having attractive blooms (See Iris (plant) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia). | third-person singular simple present indicative of be |
Where the eye mixes iris and is
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between iris and is
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: iris is /ˈaɪ.ɹɪs/ while is is /ɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “is” sits inside “iris”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
iris is recorded at frequency rank #10,228, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɪ.ɹɪs/. is is at rank #8, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪz/.
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 10236, this pair ranks #493,318 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of iris vs is
Shared letters: is. Private to "iris": r. Private to "is": -.
"iris" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "is" · 2 letters · shape VC
Known mistypes of this pair
- iris ← iirs · iriss · irris · irsi · riis
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "iris" for "is" ever safe?
Which is more common, "iris" or "is"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "iris" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "is" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #493,318 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "iris" and "is" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "iris vs Irv". 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 #493,318 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.