intra vs ira, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“intra” is a preposition and “ira” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,787
“intra” frequency rank: #5,314
“ira” frequency rank: 27101
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	intra	ira
Definition	em.	cólera

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set intra and ira apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

intra

3 ch

ira

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intra is /in.'tra/ while ira is /ˈi.ɾɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27101, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intra is recorded at frequency rank #21,787, classified as aprep, pronounced /in.'tra/. ira is at rank #5,314, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈi.ɾɐ/.

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 27101, this pair ranks #41,920 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of intra vs ira

Shared letters: air. Private to "intra": nt. Private to "ira": -.

"intra" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV · "ira" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Known mistypes of this pair

intra ← inntra · inrta · intar · intrra · inttra · itnra · nitra

Frequency comparison

intra#21,787

ira#5,314

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intra" and "ira" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "intra" is a preposition and "ira" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "intra" or "ira"?

"ira" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,314 in our Portuguese list, against #21,787 for "intra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering intra vs ira

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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