MinusvsMinuteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,089
“Minus” frequency rank
#1,398
“Minute” frequency rank
7487
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Minus Minute
Definition Fehlendes bei einer Abrechnung der 60. Teil einer Stunde

Where the eye mixes Minus and Minute

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Minus
6 ch
Minute

Look-alike desk: Minus vs Minute

A purely visual mix-up. Minus ([ˈmiːnʊs]) and Minute ([miˈnuːtə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7487, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Minus is recorded at frequency rank #6,089, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmiːnʊs]. Minute is at rank #1,398, tagged as anoun, pronounced [miˈnuːtə].

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 7487, this pair ranks #1,987,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Minus vs Minute

Shared letters: imnu. Private to "Minus": s. Private to "Minute": et.

"Minus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Minute" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Minusimnus · minnus · minsu · minuss · miuns · mminus · mnius
  • Minuteimnute · minnute · mintue · minuet · minutte · miunte · mminute · mniute

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Minus" and "Minute" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmiːnʊs] versus [miˈnuːtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Minus" or "Minute" show up more?
"Minute" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,398 in our German list, against #6,089 for "Minus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Minus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Minute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,987,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Minus" and "Minute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Milfs vs Minus". 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 #1,987,974 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