Which to use
“IRC” is a noun and “isi” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,314
- “IRC” frequency rank
- #49,170
- “isi” frequency rank
- 82484
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | IRC | isi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Protocole de communication textuelle instantanée utilisé sur Internet, créé en 1988 par un étudiant de l’université d’Oulu, en Finlande. | Deuxième personne du singulier du futur de l’indicatif du verbe isal/isañ. |
Where the eye mixes IRC and isi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. IRC (VCC) and isi (VCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses IRC with isi
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: IRC is \i ɛʁ se\ while isi is \ˈisːi\. 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 82484, 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\. isi is at rank #49,170, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈisːi\.
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 82484, this pair ranks #16,639 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of IRC vs isi
Shared letters: i. Private to "IRC": cr. Private to "isi": s.
"IRC" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "isi" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "IRC" and "isi" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "IRC" or "isi" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "IRC" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "isi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #16,639 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "IRC" and "isi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ime vs isi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #16,639 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.