# li vs lye

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### li
*noun · IPA /liː/ · frequency rank #4,685*
The Chinese mile, a traditional unit of distance equal to 1500 chis or 150 zhangs, now standardized as a half-kilometer (500 meters).

### lye
*noun · IPA /laɪ/ · frequency rank #40,787*
An alkaline liquid made by leaching ashes (usually wood ashes).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/li-vs-lye