inkvsionsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,673
“ink” frequency rank
#17,978
“ions” frequency rank
63651
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ink ions
Definition Encre. Pluriel de ion.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ink and ions apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ink
4 ch
ions

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ink (\ɪŋk\) and ions (\jɔ̃\) 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 63651, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ink is recorded at frequency rank #45,673, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɪŋk\. ions is at rank #17,978, 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 63651, this pair ranks #80,888 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ink vs ions

Shared letters: in. Private to "ink": k. Private to "ions": os.

"ink" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "ions" · 4 letters · shape VVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ionsinos · ionns · ionss · iosn · oins

Frequency comparison

ink#45,673
ions#17,978

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ink" and "ions" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɪŋk\ versus \jɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ink" or "ions"?
"ions" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,978 in our French list, against #45,673 for "ink". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ink vs ions

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ink” 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