letsvslipsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lets is a verb, lips is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lets” is a verb and “lips” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,317
“lets” frequency rank
#38,262
“lips” frequency rank
56579
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lets lips
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs let Plural des Substantivs lip

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
lets
4 ch
lips

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

lets and lips form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56579, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lets is recorded at frequency rank #18,317, classified as averb, pronounced […]. lips is at rank #38,262, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 56579, this pair ranks #934,826 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

lets#18,317
lips#38,262

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lets" and "lips" be used interchangeably?
No, "lets" and "lips" 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 lets vs lips

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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