lamevslimaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lame is a noun, lima is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lame” is a noun and “lima” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,857
“lame” frequency rank
#22,418
“lima” frequency rank
72275
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lame lima
Definition dünne Platte, dünne Schicht, Klinge grenzwertig

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
lame
4 ch
lima

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: lame is anoun and limaanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72275, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lame is recorded at frequency rank #49,857, classified as anoun, pronounced [lam]. lima is at rank #22,418, tagged as anadj.

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 72275, this pair ranks #392,878 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lame vs lima

Shared letters: alm. Private to "lame": e. Private to "lima": i.

"lame" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lima" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lamealme · laem · lamme · llame · lmae
  • limailma · liam · limma · llima · lmia

Frequency comparison

lame#49,857
lima#22,418

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lame" and "lima" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lame" is a noun and "lima" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lame" or "lima"?
"lima" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,418 in our German list, against #49,857 for "lame". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lame vs lima

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “lame”; for an adjective, it's “lima”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lame” 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