Which to use
“ire” and “iron” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,373
- “ire” frequency rank
- #14,630
- “iron” frequency rank
- 36003
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ire | iron |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ira. | Hierro. |
Where the eye mixes ire and iron
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ire runs 3 letters (VCV) against iron's 4 (VCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ire with iron
A purely visual mix-up. ire ([aɪəʳ]) and iron (/ˈaɪ.ən/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36003, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ire is recorded at frequency rank #21,373, classified as anoun, pronounced [aɪəʳ]. iron is at rank #14,630, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɪ.ən/.
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 36003, this pair ranks #182,996 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ire vs iron
Shared letters: ir. Private to "ire": e. Private to "iron": no.
"ire" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "iron" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- iron ← iorn · irno · ironn · irron · rion
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ire" and "iron" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "ire" or "iron" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "iron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #182,996 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ire" and "iron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ire vs iza". 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 #182,996 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.