Which to use
“lemme” is a contraction and “lime” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,723
- “lemme” frequency rank
- #8,814
- “lime” frequency rank
- 31537
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lemme | lime |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Let me. | Any inorganic material containing calcium, usually calcium oxide (quicklime) or calcium hydroxide (slaked lime). |
Where the eye mixes lemme and lime
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lemme vs lime
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lemme is /ˈlɛmi/ while lime is /laɪm/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31537, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lemme is recorded at frequency rank #22,723, classified as acontraction, pronounced /ˈlɛmi/. lime is at rank #8,814, tagged as anoun, pronounced /laɪm/.
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 31537, this pair ranks #345,276 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lemme vs lime
Shared letters: elm. Private to "lemme": -. Private to "lime": i.
"lemme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "lime" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lemme" for "lime" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "lemme" or "lime" show up more?
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 "lemme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lime" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #345,276 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lemme" and "lime" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lemme vs lemur". 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 #345,276 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.