LimesvslisConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#36,483
“Limes” frequency rank
#38,263
“lis” frequency rank
74746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Limes lis
Definition Grenzwall des Römischen Reichs Stieleiche

Where the eye mixes Limes and lis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Limes
3 ch
lis

Look-alike desk: Limes vs lis

A purely visual mix-up. Limes ([ˈliːmɛs]) and lis ([lis]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Limes is recorded at frequency rank #36,483, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈliːmɛs]. 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 74746, this pair ranks #325,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Limes vs lis

Shared letters: ils. Private to "Limes": em. Private to "lis": -.

"Limes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "lis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Limesilmes · liems · limess · limmes · limse · llimes · lmies

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Limes" for "lis" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈliːmɛs] versus [lis]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Limes" or "lis"?
"Limes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,483 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.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Limes" 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 #325,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Limes" 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 #325,450 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