IQ

\iːˈkuː\

/\iːˈkuː\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“IQ” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #47,975) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#47,975
frequency rank, French
3,561
“I” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - QI, quotient intellectuel.

Corpus desk

Index FR-iq · IQ · French

IQ · rank #47,975 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #47,975
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,561
  • PHOTO-FINISH inversées

Nearest frequency peer: inversées (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “IQ”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “IQ” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

IQ vs it
0% similar
IQ vs ix
0% similar
IQ vs ir
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for IQ
PropertyValue
HeadwordIQ
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\iːˈkuː\
Letters2
Frequency rank#47,975
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “IQ” se place dans la fréquence du français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).IQse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « inversées » (#47,974), « irréalistes » (#47,976), « introverti » (#47,973). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for IQ is neighbouring look-alikes ("it", "ix", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced \iːˈkuː\. Frequency #47,975 among 3,561 “I” headwords. Gloss: "QI, quotient intellectuel.".

IQ has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "it", "ix", "ir", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is IQ, spelled I-Q.

Definition

  1. 1
    QI, quotient intellectuel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how IQ appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Dein IQ ist sehr hoch.
  2. Blei, das steht seit Langem fest, ist ein Nervengift. Es tötet schleichend und setzt, vor allem in der Kindsentwicklung, den IQ herab. Einmal im Körper, kann es nicht mehr abgebaut werden.

Synonyms

Intelligenzquotient

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "IQ"?
"IQ" is spelled I-Q. The IPA pronunciation is \iːˈkuː\.
What does "IQ" mean?
As a noun, "IQ" means: QI, quotient intellectuel.
What words are commonly confused with "IQ"?
"IQ" is commonly confused with "it", "ix", "ir". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "IQ"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "IQ" is \iːˈkuː\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "IQ" come from?
"IQ" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

What to do next

You've looked up "IQ". Here's where to go from here.

  • "IQ" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "it". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #47,975 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "I" letter cohort. I–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list