Which to use
“IBM” is a name and “iu” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,283
- “IBM” frequency rank
- #46,833
- “iu” frequency rank
- 61116
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | IBM | iu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Société américaine d'informatique, connue du grand public pour avoir créé les premiers PC. | Je. |
Where the eye mixes IBM and iu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: IBM vs iu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: IBM is \aɪˈbiːˈɛm\ while iu is \ˈiu\. 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 pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61116, 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\. iu is at rank #46,833, tagged as apron, pronounced \ˈiu\.
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 61116, this pair ranks #93,984 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of IBM vs iu
Shared letters: i. Private to "IBM": bm. Private to "iu": u.
"IBM" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "iu" · 2 letters · shape VV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "IBM" for "iu" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "IBM" or "iu" show up more?
What to do next
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 "iu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #93,984 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "IBM" and "iu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "isi vs iu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #93,984 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.