MinusvsMinzeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,089
“Minus” frequency rank
#33,189
“Minze” frequency rank
39278
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Minus Minze
Definition Fehlendes bei einer Abrechnung die Lippenblütlergattung Mentha (deutsch: Minzen), mit mehreren schwer zu unterscheidenden Arten

Where the eye mixes Minus and Minze

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

5 ch
Minus
5 ch
Minze

Why the eye confuses Minus with Minze

A purely visual mix-up. Minus ([ˈmiːnʊs]) 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 39278, 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]. 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 39278, this pair ranks #1,541,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Minus vs Minze

Shared letters: imn. Private to "Minus": su. Private to "Minze": ez.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Minusimnus · minnus · minsu · minuss · miuns · mminus · mnius
  • Minzeimnze · minez · minnze · minzze · mizne · mminze · mnize

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Minus" and "Minze" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmiːnʊs] versus [ˈmɪnt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Minus" or "Minze" show up more?
"Minus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,089 in our German list, against #33,189 for "Minze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Minus" and "Minze" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Minus" 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 #1,541,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Minus" and "Minze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Matze vs Minze". 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 #1,541,167 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