Which to use
“min” is a noun and “minus” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,509
- “min” frequency rank
- #7,158
- “minus” frequency rank
- 10667
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | min | minus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Abbreviation of minute. | Made less or reduced by (followed by an expression of number or quantity). |
Where the eye mixes min and minus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between min and minus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: min is /mɪn/ while minus is /ˈmaɪ.nəs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “min” sits inside “minus”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10667, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
min is recorded at frequency rank #3,509, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɪn/. minus is at rank #7,158, tagged as aprep, pronounced /ˈmaɪ.nəs/.
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 10667, this pair ranks #491,150 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of min vs minus
Shared letters: imn. Private to "min": -. Private to "minus": su.
"min" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "minus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- minus ← imnus · minnus · minsu · minuss · miuns · mminus · mnius
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "min" for "minus" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "min" or "minus" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "min" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "minus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #491,150 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "min" and "minus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Minot vs minus". 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 #491,150 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.