LiebevsLinkeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#309
“Liebe” frequency rank
#1,185
“Linke” frequency rank
1494
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Liebe Linke
Definition inniges Gefühl der Zuneigung für jemanden oder für etwas die links gelegene Hand

Where the eye mixes Liebe and Linke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Liebe
5 ch
Linke

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Liebe ([ˈliːbə]) and Linke ([ˈlɪŋkə]) 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 1494, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Liebe is recorded at frequency rank #309, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈliːbə]. Linke is at rank #1,185, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɪŋkə].

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 1494, this pair ranks #2,004,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Liebe vs Linke

Shared letters: eil. Private to "Liebe": b. Private to "Linke": kn.

"Liebe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "Linke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Liebeilebe · libee · liebbe · lieeb · lliebe
  • Linkeilnke · likne · linek · linkke · linnke · llinke · lnike

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Liebe" and "Linke" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈliːbə] versus [ˈlɪŋkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Liebe" or "Linke"?
"Liebe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #309 in our German list, against #1,185 for "Linke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Liebe" and "Linke". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Liebe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Linke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,004,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Liebe" and "Linke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Linke vs Lübke". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list