imavsirWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ima is a noun, ir is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ima” is a noun and “ir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,435
“ima” frequency rank
#14,065
“ir” frequency rank
50500
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ima ir
Definition Maison. Aller, se déplacer jusqu'à un endroit.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ima and ir apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ima
2 ch
ir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

ima and ir form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50500, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ima is recorded at frequency rank #36,435, classified as anoun, pronounced \ima\. 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 50500, this pair ranks #162,162 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

ima#36,435
ir#14,065

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ima" and "ir" be used interchangeably?
No, "ima" and "ir" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering ima vs ir

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ima”; for a verb, it's “ir”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ima” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list