LaievslinConfusable pair

Which to use

“Laie” and “lin” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,639
“Laie” frequency rank
#15,148
“lin” frequency rank
40787
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Laie lin
Definition jemand, der auf einem bestimmten Gebiet keine Fachkenntnisse oder keine abgeschlossene Fachausbildung hat Lein, Leinpflanze, Flachs

Where the eye mixes Laie and lin

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Laie
3 ch
lin

Visual trap between Laie and lin

A purely visual mix-up. Laie ([ˈlaɪ̯ə]) and lin ([lɛ̃]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Laie is recorded at frequency rank #25,639, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯ə]. lin is at rank #15,148, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lɛ̃].

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 40787, this pair ranks #1,498,293 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Laie vs lin

Shared letters: il. Private to "Laie": ae. Private to "lin": n.

"Laie" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "lin" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Laiealie · laei · liae · llaie

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Laie" for "lin" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaɪ̯ə] versus [lɛ̃]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Laie" or "lin"?
"lin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,148 in our German list, against #25,639 for "Laie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Laie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,498,293 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Laie" and "lin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Laie vs lame". 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 #1,498,293 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list