lis

[ˈlis]

/[ˈlis]/ noun

The verdict

“lis” is a moderately-common Spanish word, ranked #20,413 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.

#20,413
frequency rank, Spanish
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - (Iris) Planta de la familia de las irídeas, formada por tallos que miden generalmente entre cinco y seis decímetros de largo, con hojas ensiformes que tienen cerca de la mitad de esa longitud, y qu...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

lis vs lo
33% similar
lis vs Lu
0% similar
lis vs ll
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for lis
PropertyValue
Headwordlis
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈlis]
Letters3
Frequency rank#20,413
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lis” sits in Spanish frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). lis lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for lis is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈlis]. Corpus data places it at rank #20,413 in overall Spanish word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for lis, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "lo", "Lu", "ll", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Spanish form is lis, spelled L-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    (Iris) Planta de la familia de las irídeas, formada por tallos que miden generalmente entre cinco y seis decímetros de largo, con hojas ensiformes que tienen cerca de la mitad de esa longitud, y que terminan en flores de gran tamaño, con seis pétalos de vivos colores, generalmente morado, azul o blanco.
  2. 2
    Mueble heráldico que representa de forma estilizada a un lirio visto de perfil, del que se ven tres pétalos, siendo el del centro largo y ancho y los de los lados más pequeños y curvados hacia abajo. En la parte inferior tiene un remate de tres puntas.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lis"?
"lis" is spelled L-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈlis].
What does "lis" mean?
As a noun, "lis" means: (Iris) Planta de la familia de las irídeas, formada por tallos que miden generalmente entre cinco y seis decímetros de largo, con hojas ensiformes que tienen cerca de la mitad de esa longitud, y qu...
What words are commonly confused with "lis"?
"lis" is commonly confused with "lo", "Lu", "ll". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lis" is [ˈlis]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lis" come from?
"lis" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “lis”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is L-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈlis] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “lo” - see the side-by-side comparison. lis vs lo
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list