MinnavsMinzeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#38,287
“Minna” frequency rank
#33,189
“Minze” frequency rank
71476
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Minna Minze
Definition weibliche Person, zur Verrichtung von Arbeiten in privaten Haushalten die Lippenblütlergattung Mentha (deutsch: Minzen), mit mehreren schwer zu unterscheidenden Arten

Where the eye mixes Minna and Minze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Minna and Minze follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
Minna
5 ch
Minze

Why the eye confuses Minna with Minze

A purely visual mix-up. Minna ([ˈmɪna]) and Minze ([ˈmɪnt͡sə]) 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 71476, 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]. Minze is at rank #33,189, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɪnt͡sə].

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 71476, this pair ranks #415,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Minna vs Minze

Shared letters: imn. Private to "Minna": a. Private to "Minze": ez.

"Minna" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Minze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Minna ← imnna · mina · minan · mminna · mnina
  • Minze ← imnze · minez · minnze · minzze · mizne · mminze · mnize

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Minna" for "Minze" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɪna] versus [ˈmɪnt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Minna" vs "Minze" - which ranks higher?
"Minze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,189 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 "Minze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #415,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Minna" and "Minze" 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 #415,663 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