Which to use
“IRC” and “iris” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,314
- “IRC” frequency rank
- #9,504
- “iris” frequency rank
- 42818
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | IRC | iris |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Protocole de communication textuelle instantanée utilisé sur Internet, créé en 1988 par un étudiant de l’université d’Oulu, en Finlande. | Partie colorée de l’œil qui environne la prunelle et qui présente quelquefois des nuances circulaires et concentriques. |
Where the eye mixes IRC and iris
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. IRC runs 3 letters (VCC) against iris's 4 (VCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses IRC with iris
A purely visual mix-up. IRC (\i ɛʁ se\) and iris (\i.ʁis\) 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 42818, 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\. iris is at rank #9,504, tagged as anoun, pronounced \i.ʁis\.
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 42818, this pair ranks #222,714 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of IRC vs iris
Shared letters: ir. Private to "IRC": c. Private to "iris": s.
"IRC" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "iris" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- iris ← iirs · iriss · irris · irsi · riis
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "IRC" for "iris" ever safe?
Which is more common, "IRC" or "iris"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "IRC" and "iris" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "IRC" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "iris" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #222,714 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "IRC" and "iris" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "IRC 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 #222,714 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.