ion vs ir, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ion” is a noun and “ir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,745
“ion” frequency rank: #186
“ir” frequency rank: 22931
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ion	ir
Definition	Partícula cargada eléctricamente constituida por un átomo o molécula que no es eléctricamente neutro.	Desplazarse de un lugar a otro.

Where the eye mixes ion and ir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch

ion

2 ch

Look-alike desk: ion vs ir

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ion is [ˈjõn] while ir is [ˈiɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22931, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ion is recorded at frequency rank #22,745, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈjõn]. ir is at rank #186, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈiɾ].

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 22931, this pair ranks #248,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ion vs ir

Shared letters: i. Private to "ion": no. Private to "ir": r.

"ion" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "ir" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ion" and "ir" mean the same thing in a sentence?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ion" is a noun and "ir" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "ion" or "ir"?

"ir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #186 in our Spanish list, against #22,745 for "ion". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

Full dictionary entry for "ion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "ir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #248,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"ion" and "ir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ion vs iza". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #248,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.