Which to use
“ien” is an article and “ir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,335
- “ien” frequency rank
- #14,065
- “ir” frequency rank
- 55400
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ien | ir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Un, une | Aller, se déplacer jusqu'à un endroit. |
Letter map: ien vs ir
Shared letters muted; letters that set ien and ir apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Grammar separator: ien vs ir
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ien is anarticle and iraverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55400, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ien is recorded at frequency rank #41,335, classified as anarticle. 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 55400, this pair ranks #127,690 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ien vs ir
Shared letters: i. Private to "ien": en. Private to "ir": r.
"ien" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "ir" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ien" and "ir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "ien" or "ir" show up more?
What to do next
Pair "ien" vs "ir" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "ien" 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 #127,690 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ien" and "ir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ien vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #127,690 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.