icvsiceWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ic is a pronoun, ice is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ic and ice apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
ic
3 ch
ice

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

ic and ice form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ic” sits inside “ice” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. 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.

Frequency comparison

ic#25,339
ice#10,198

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ic" and "ice" be used interchangeably?
No, "ic" and "ice" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering ic vs ice

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “ic”; for a noun, it's “ice”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ic” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list