Which to use
“lees” and “lis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,538
- “lees” frequency rank
- #25,822
- “lis” frequency rank
- 53360
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lees | lis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The sediment that settles during fermentation of beverages, consisting of dead yeast and precipitated parts of the fruit. | Clipping of fleur-de-lis. |
Letter map: lees vs lis
Shared letters muted; letters that set lees and lis apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Spelling & dictionary notes on lees vs lis
lees and lis are indexed as a confusable English 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 53360, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lees is recorded at frequency rank #27,538, classified as anoun, pronounced /liːz/. lis is at rank #25,822, tagged as anoun.
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 53360, this pair ranks #149,638 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lees vs lis
Shared letters: ls. Private to "lees": e. Private to "lis": i.
"lees" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "lis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lees ← leess · llees
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lees" for "lis" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lees" vs "lis" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "lees" and "lis".
- Full dictionary entry for "lees" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #149,638 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lees" and "lis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lees vs lel". 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 #149,638 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.