irsevsisiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: irse is a verb, isi is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#2,507
“irse” frequency rank
#39,822
“isi” frequency rank
42329
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature irse isi
Definition Alejarse de un lugar. El extranjero, tierra o país de donde uno no es.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set irse and isi apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
irse
3 ch
isi

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: irse is [ˈiɾse] while isi is /ì.sí/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42329, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

irse is recorded at frequency rank #2,507, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈiɾse]. 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 42329, this pair ranks #148,830 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of irse vs isi

Shared letters: is. Private to "irse": er. Private to "isi": -.

"irse" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "isi" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • irseirce · ires · irrse · irsse · isre

Frequency comparison

irse#2,507
isi#39,822

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "irse" and "isi" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "irse" is a verb and "isi" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "irse" or "isi"?
"irse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,507 in our Spanish list, against #39,822 for "isi". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering irse vs isi

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “irse”; for a noun, it's “isi”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “irse” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list