IranvsirmãTell them apart

Which to use

“Iran” and “irmã” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#28,248
“Iran” frequency rank
#939
“irmã” frequency rank
29187
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Iran irmã
Definition Irão/Irã aquela que em relação a outrem, possui os dois pais (o mesmo pai e a mesma mãe ao mesmo tempo) em comum

Where the eye mixes Iran and irmã

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Iran (VCVC) and irmã (VCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Iran
4 ch
irmã

Visual trap between Iran and irmã

A purely visual mix-up. Iran (/i.ˈʀaːn/) and irmã (/iɾ.ˈmɐ̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Iran is recorded at frequency rank #28,248, classified as anoun, pronounced /i.ˈʀaːn/. irmã is at rank #939, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iɾ.ˈmɐ̃/.

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 29187, this pair ranks #39,521 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Iran vs irmã

Shared letters: ir. Private to "Iran": an. Private to "irmã": mã.

"Iran" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "irmã" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Iran ← iarn · irann · irna · irran · rian

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Iran" and "irmã" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/i.ˈʀaːn/ versus /iɾ.ˈmɐ̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Iran" vs "irmã" - which ranks higher?
"irmã" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #939 in our Portuguese list, against #28,248 for "Iran". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Iran" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "irmã" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #39,521 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Iran" and "irmã" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ina vs Iran". 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 #39,521 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list