MinnavsMinusTell them apart

Which to use

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

#38,287
“Minna” frequency rank
#6,089
“Minus” frequency rank
44376
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Minna Minus
Definition weibliche Person, zur Verrichtung von Arbeiten in privaten Haushalten Fehlendes bei einer Abrechnung

Where the eye mixes Minna and Minus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Minna (CVCCV) and Minus (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Minna
5 ch
Minus

Why the eye confuses Minna with Minus

A purely visual mix-up. Minna ([ˈmɪna]) and Minus ([ˈmiːnʊs]) 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 44376, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Minna is recorded at frequency rank #38,287, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɪna]. Minus is at rank #6,089, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmiːnʊs].

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 44376, this pair ranks #1,388,160 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Minna vs Minus

Shared letters: imn. Private to "Minna": a. Private to "Minus": su.

"Minna" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Minus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Minnaimnna · mina · minan · mminna · mnina
  • Minusimnus · minnus · minsu · minuss · miuns · mminus · mnius

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Minna" and "Minus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɪna] versus [ˈmiːnʊs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Minna" or "Minus" show up more?
"Minus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,089 in our German list, against #38,287 for "Minna". 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 "Minna" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Minus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,388,160 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Minna" and "Minus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Milena vs Minna". 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 #1,388,160 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