Which to use
“ies” and “ion” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,358
- “ies” frequency rank
- #14,064
- “ion” frequency rank
- 39422
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ies | ion |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de ie. | Atome ou molécule ayant perdu ou gagné des électrons sur sa couche externe. |
Where the eye mixes ies and ion
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ies and ion
A purely visual mix-up. ies (\je\) and ion (\jɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ies is recorded at frequency rank #25,358, classified as anoun, pronounced \je\. ion is at rank #14,064, tagged as anoun, pronounced \jɔ̃\.
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 39422, this pair ranks #248,079 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ies vs ion
Shared letters: i. Private to "ies": es. Private to "ion": no.
"ies" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "ion" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ies" for "ion" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ies" or "ion"?
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 "ies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,079 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ies" and "ion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ies vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #248,079 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.