iec vs ir, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“iec” and “ir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#48,589
“iec” frequency rank: #14,065
“ir” frequency rank: 62654
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	iec	ir
Definition	Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent du verbe ié.	Aller, se déplacer jusqu'à un endroit.

Where the eye mixes iec and ir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. iec runs 3 letters (VVC) against ir's 2 (VC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch

iec

2 ch

Why the eye confuses iec with ir

A purely visual mix-up. iec (\iˈɛʃ\) and ir (\iɾ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62654, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

iec is recorded at frequency rank #48,589, classified as averb, pronounced \iˈɛʃ\. 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 62654, this pair ranks #86,023 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of iec vs ir

Shared letters: i. Private to "iec": ce. Private to "ir": r.

"iec" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "ir" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "iec" and "ir" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\iˈɛʃ\ versus \iɾ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

In ordinary French text, does "iec" or "ir" show up more?

"ir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,065 in our French list, against #48,589 for "iec". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "iec" 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 #86,023 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"iec" and "ir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "iec vs isi". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #86,023 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.