Which to use
“ich” is a pronoun and “ir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,841
- “ich” frequency rank
- #14,065
- “ir” frequency rank
- 41906
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ich | ir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Je (première personne du singulier nominatif). | Aller, se déplacer jusqu'à un endroit. |
Where the eye mixes ich and ir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ich and ir
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ich is \iːt͡ʃ\ while ir is \iɾ\. 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 (pronoun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ich is recorded at frequency rank #27,841, classified as apron, pronounced \iːt͡ʃ\. ir is at rank #14,065, tagged as averb, pronounced \iɾ\.
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 41906, this pair ranks #229,680 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ich vs ir
Shared letters: i. Private to "ich": ch. Private to "ir": r.
"ich" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ir" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ich" for "ir" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ich" or "ir"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #229,680 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ich" and "ir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ich vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #229,680 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.