irevsisiConfusable pair

Which to use

“ire” and “isi” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#21,373
“ire” frequency rank
#39,822
“isi” frequency rank
61195
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ire isi
Definition Ira. El extranjero, tierra o país de donde uno no es.

Where the eye mixes ire and isi

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. ire and isi follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
ire
3 ch
isi

Why the eye confuses ire with isi

A purely visual mix-up. ire ([aɪəʳ]) and isi (/ì.sí/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61195, 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]. isi is at rank #39,822, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ì.sí/.

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 61195, this pair ranks #56,314 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ire vs isi

Shared letters: i. Private to "ire": er. Private to "isi": s.

"ire" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "isi" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ire" and "isi" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aɪəʳ] versus /ì.sí/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ire" vs "isi" - which ranks higher?
"ire" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,373 in our Spanish list, against #39,822 for "isi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "isi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #56,314 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ire" and "isi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "isi vs iza". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #56,314 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list