LilienvsLilithWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Lilien” and “Lilith” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#20,658
“Lilien” frequency rank
#46,813
“Lilith” frequency rank
67471
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lilien Lilith
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Lilie weiblicher Dämon sumerischer Herkunft

Where the eye mixes Lilien and Lilith

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Lilien (CVCVVC) and Lilith (CVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Lilien
6 ch
Lilith

Look-alike desk: Lilien vs Lilith

A purely visual mix-up. Lilien ([ˈliːli̯ən]) and Lilith ([ˈliːlɪt]) 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 67471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lilien is recorded at frequency rank #20,658, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈliːli̯ən]. Lilith is at rank #46,813, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈliːlɪt].

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 67471, this pair ranks #539,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Lilien vs Lilith

Shared letters: il. Private to "Lilien": en. Private to "Lilith": ht.

"Lilien" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "Lilith" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lilienillien · liilen · lilein · lilienn · liline · lillien · lliien · llilien
  • Lilithillith · liilth · liliht · lilithh · lilitth · lillith · liltih · lliith

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Lilien" and "Lilith" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈliːli̯ən] versus [ˈliːlɪt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lilien" or "Lilith"?
"Lilien" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,658 in our German list, against #46,813 for "Lilith". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Lilien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lilith" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #539,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lilien" and "Lilith" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lilith vs lolita". 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 #539,091 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list