LändervsLinzerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,116
“Länder” frequency rank
#19,294
“Linzer” frequency rank
20410
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Länder Linzer
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Land Bewohner von Linz; jemand, der in Linz lebt

Where the eye mixes Länder and Linzer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Länder
6 ch
Linzer

Why the eye confuses Länder with Linzer

A purely visual mix-up. Länder ([ˈlɛndɐ]) and Linzer ([ˈlɪnt͡sɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20410, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Länder is recorded at frequency rank #1,116, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛndɐ]. Linzer is at rank #19,294, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɪnt͡sɐ].

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 20410, this pair ranks #1,897,973 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Länder vs Linzer

Shared letters: elnr. Private to "Länder": . Private to "Linzer": iz.

"Länder" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Linzer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Linzerilnzer · linezr · linnzer · linzerr · linzre · linzzer · lizner · llinzer

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Länder" for "Linzer" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlɛndɐ] versus [ˈlɪnt͡sɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Länder" or "Linzer"?
"Länder" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,116 in our German list, against #19,294 for "Linzer". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Länder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Linzer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,897,973 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Länder" and "Linzer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lenzen vs Linzer". 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 #1,897,973 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