limavslisConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#22,418
“lima” frequency rank
#38,263
“lis” frequency rank
60681
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lima lis
Definition grenzwertig Stieleiche

Letter map: lima vs lis

Shared letters muted; letters that set lima and lis apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
lima
3 ch
lis

Role in the sentence - lima and lis

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: lima is anadjective and lisanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lima is recorded at frequency rank #22,418, classified as anadj. lis is at rank #38,263, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lis].

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 60681, this pair ranks #777,905 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lima vs lis

Shared letters: il. Private to "lima": am. Private to "lis": s.

"lima" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • limailma · liam · limma · llima · lmia

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lima" for "lis" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lima" is an adjective and "lis" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "lima" vs "lis" - which ranks higher?
"lima" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,418 in our German list, against #38,263 for "lis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pair "lima" vs "lis" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lima" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #777,905 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lima" and "lis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs lis". 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 #777,905 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