IvovsivoryWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Ivo is a name, ivory is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Ivo” is a name and “ivory” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,870
“Ivo” frequency rank
#8,949
“ivory” frequency rank
48819
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ivo ivory
Definition A male given name from the Germanic languages. The hard white form of dentin which forms the tusks of elephants, walruses and other animals.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Ivo and ivory apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
Ivo
5 ch
ivory

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Ivo is /ˈaɪvəʊ/ while ivory is /ˈaɪv(ə)ɹi/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Ivo” sits inside “ivory”, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48819, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ivo is recorded at frequency rank #39,870, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈaɪvəʊ/. ivory is at rank #8,949, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɪv(ə)ɹi/.

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 48819, this pair ranks #189,505 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Ivo vs ivory

Shared letters: iov. Private to "Ivo": -. Private to "ivory": ry.

"Ivo" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ivory" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ivoryiovry · ivorry · ivoryy · ivoyr · ivroy · ivvory · viory

Frequency comparison

Ivo#39,870
ivory#8,949

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ivo" and "ivory" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Ivo" is a name and "ivory" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Ivo" or "ivory"?
"ivory" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,949 in our English list, against #39,870 for "Ivo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Ivo vs ivory

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Ivo”; for a noun, it's “ivory”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Ivo” 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