Which to use
“ion” and “ISBN” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,064
- “ion” frequency rank
- #20,176
- “ISBN” frequency rank
- 34240
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ion | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Atome ou molécule ayant perdu ou gagné des électrons sur sa couche externe. | Numéro international qui permet d’identifier, de manière unique, chaque livre publié. |
Where the eye mixes ion and ISBN
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ion vs ISBN
A purely visual mix-up. ion (\jɔ̃\) and ISBN (\i.ɛs.be.ɛn\) 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 34240, 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\. ISBN is at rank #20,176, tagged as anoun, pronounced \i.ɛs.be.ɛn\.
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 34240, this pair ranks #285,187 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ion vs ISBN
Shared letters: in. Private to "ion": o. Private to "ISBN": bs.
"ion" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "ISBN" · 4 letters · shape VCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ISBN ← ibsn · isbbn · isbnn · isnb · issbn · sibn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ion" and "ISBN" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "ion" or "ISBN" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ISBN" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #285,187 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ion" and "ISBN" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ISBN vs isi". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #285,187 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.