Which to use
“ibis” and “ions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,067
- “ibis” frequency rank
- #17,978
- “ions” frequency rank
- 49045
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ibis | ions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Espèce d'oiseau échassier de la famille des threskiornithidés, au bec long, mince et recourbé. | Pluriel de ion. |
Where the eye mixes ibis and ions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ibis (VCVC) and ions (VVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between ibis and ions
A purely visual mix-up. ibis (\i.bis\) and ions (\jɔ̃\) 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 49045, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ibis is recorded at frequency rank #31,067, classified as anoun, pronounced \i.bis\. ions is at rank #17,978, tagged as anoun, pronounced \jɔ̃\.
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 49045, this pair ranks #173,910 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ibis vs ions
Shared letters: is. Private to "ibis": b. Private to "ions": no.
"ibis" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "ions" · 4 letters · shape VVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ibis" and "ions" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ibis" or "ions"?
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 "ibis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #173,910 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ibis" and "ions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ibis vs isi". 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 #173,910 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.