Which to use
“ips” is a symbol and “iss” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,871
- “ips” frequency rank
- #22,303
- “iss” frequency rank
- 61174
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ips | iss |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Unité de mesure de la fréquence d’échantillonnage d’un film : nombre d’images qui défilent par seconde. | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de essen. |
Where the eye mixes ips and iss
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ips vs iss
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ips is \i.pe.ɛs\ while iss is \ɪs\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - p in “ips” becomes s in “iss”, and the parts of speech differ too (symbol vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61174, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ips is recorded at frequency rank #38,871, classified as asymbol, pronounced \i.pe.ɛs\. iss is at rank #22,303, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɪs\.
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 61174, this pair ranks #93,700 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ips vs iss
Shared letters: is. Private to "ips": p. Private to "iss": -.
"ips" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "iss" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ips" for "iss" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ips" or "iss"?
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 "ips" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "iss" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #93,700 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ips" and "iss" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ips vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #93,700 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.