Which to use
“ic” is a pronoun and “ice” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,339
- “ic” frequency rank
- #10,198
- “ice” frequency rank
- 35537
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ic | ice |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eu, pronome pessoal do caso reto da primeira pessoa do singular | gelo |
Where the eye mixes ic and ice
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ic with ice
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ic is /iʧ/ while ice is /ˈɑɪs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ic” sits inside “ice”, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35537, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ic is recorded at frequency rank #25,339, classified as apron, pronounced /iʧ/. ice is at rank #10,198, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɑɪs/.
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 35537, this pair ranks #31,515 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ic vs ice
Shared letters: ci. Private to "ic": -. Private to "ice": e.
"ic" · 2 letters · shape VC · "ice" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ic" and "ice" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ic" or "ice" 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 "ic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ice" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #31,515 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ic" and "ice" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ic vs ino". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #31,515 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.