Which to use
“ion” is a noun and “ira” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,064
- “ion” frequency rank
- #2,932
- “ira” frequency rank
- 16996
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ion | ira |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Atome ou molécule ayant perdu ou gagné des électrons sur sa couche externe. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif futur simple de aller. |
Where the eye mixes ion and ira
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ion and ira
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ion is \jɔ̃\ while ira is \i.ʁa\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16996, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ion is recorded at frequency rank #14,064, classified as anoun, pronounced \jɔ̃\. ira is at rank #2,932, tagged as averb, pronounced \i.ʁa\.
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 16996, this pair ranks #385,295 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ion vs ira
Shared letters: i. Private to "ion": no. Private to "ira": ar.
"ion" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "ira" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ion" and "ira" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ion" or "ira"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ion" and "ira" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ira" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #385,295 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ion" and "ira" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ion vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #385,295 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.