Which to use
“limp” is a verb and “lis” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,514
- “limp” frequency rank
- #25,822
- “lis” frequency rank
- 42336
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | limp | lis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To walk lamely, as if favoring one leg. | Clipping of fleur-de-lis. |
Letter map: limp vs lis
Shared letters muted; letters that set limp and lis apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Role in the sentence - limp and lis
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: limp is averb and lisanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42336, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
limp is recorded at frequency rank #16,514, classified as averb, pronounced /lɪmp/. 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 42336, this pair ranks #250,155 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of limp vs lis
Shared letters: il. Private to "limp": mp. Private to "lis": s.
"limp" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- limp ← ilmp · limmp · limpp · lipm · llimp · lmip
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "limp" for "lis" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "limp" or "lis" show up more?
After this comparison
Pair "limp" vs "lis" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "limp" 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 #250,155 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "limp" and "lis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lis vs LSC". 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 #250,155 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.