Which to use
“IRC” and “ire” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,314
- “IRC” frequency rank
- #23,590
- “ire” frequency rank
- 56904
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | IRC | ire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Protocole de communication textuelle instantanée utilisé sur Internet, créé en 1988 par un étudiant de l’université d’Oulu, en Finlande. | Colère. |
Where the eye mixes IRC and ire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between IRC and ire
A purely visual mix-up. IRC (\i ɛʁ se\) and ire (\iʁ\) 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 a single letter - c in “IRC” becomes e in “ire”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56904, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
IRC is recorded at frequency rank #33,314, classified as anoun, pronounced \i ɛʁ se\. ire is at rank #23,590, tagged as anoun, pronounced \iʁ\.
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 56904, this pair ranks #118,223 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of IRC vs ire
Shared letters: ir. Private to "IRC": c. Private to "ire": e.
"IRC" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ire" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "IRC" and "ire" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "IRC" or "ire"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "IRC" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #118,223 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "IRC" and "ire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IRC vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #118,223 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.