LinsevslipsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#18,972
“Linse” frequency rank
#38,262
“lips” frequency rank
57234
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Linse lips
Definition Vertreter der Gattung Lens aus der Familie der Schmetterlingsblütler, insbesondere Lens culinaris Plural des Substantivs lip

Letter map: Linse vs lips

Shared letters muted; letters that set Linse and lips apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
Linse
4 ch
lips

Corpus notes: Linse and lips

Linse and lips are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57234, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Linse is recorded at frequency rank #18,972, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɪnzə]. 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 57234, this pair ranks #909,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Linse vs lips

Shared letters: ils. Private to "Linse": en. Private to "lips": p.

"Linse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "lips" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Linseilnse · linnse · linsse · lisne · llinse · lnise
  • lipsilps · lipps · lipss · lisp · llips · lpis

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Linse" and "lips" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "Linse" vs "lips" - which ranks higher?
"Linse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,972 in our German list, against #38,262 for "lips". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "Linse" and "lips".

  • Full dictionary entry for "Linse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lips" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #909,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Linse" and "lips" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lips vs puzzles". 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 #909,284 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