Which to use
“IBM” is a name and “item” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,283
- “IBM” frequency rank
- #19,048
- “item” frequency rank
- 33331
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | IBM | item |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Société américaine d'informatique, connue du grand public pour avoir créé les premiers PC. | De même, également. |
Where the eye mixes IBM and item
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: IBM vs item
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: IBM is \aɪˈbiːˈɛm\ while item is \i.tɛm\. 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 (name vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33331, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
IBM is recorded at frequency rank #14,283, classified as aname, pronounced \aɪˈbiːˈɛm\. item is at rank #19,048, tagged as anadv, pronounced \i.tɛm\.
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 33331, this pair ranks #291,349 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of IBM vs item
Shared letters: im. Private to "IBM": b. Private to "item": et.
"IBM" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "item" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- item ← ietm · itemm · ittem
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "IBM" for "item" ever safe?
Frequency check: "IBM" vs "item" - which ranks higher?
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 "IBM" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "item" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #291,349 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "IBM" and "item" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ime vs item". 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 #291,349 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.