liebesvslinkesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,619
“liebes” frequency rank
#19,293
“linkes” frequency rank
24912
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature liebes linkes
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lieb Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs link

Where the eye mixes liebes and linkes

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

6 ch
liebes
6 ch
linkes

Why the eye confuses liebes with linkes

A purely visual mix-up. liebes ([ˈliːbəs]) and linkes ([ˈlɪŋkəs]) 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 24912, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

liebes is recorded at frequency rank #5,619, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈliːbəs]. linkes is at rank #19,293, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlɪŋkəs].

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 24912, this pair ranks #1,840,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of liebes vs linkes

Shared letters: eils. Private to "liebes": b. Private to "linkes": kn.

"liebes" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "linkes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • liebesilebes · libees · liebbes · liebess · liebse · lieebs · lliebes
  • linkesilnkes · liknes · lineks · linkess · linkkes · linkse · linnkes · llinkes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "liebes" and "linkes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈliːbəs] versus [ˈlɪŋkəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "liebes" or "linkes" show up more?
"liebes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,619 in our German list, against #19,293 for "linkes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "liebes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "linkes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,840,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "liebes" and "linkes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "liken vs linkes". 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 #1,840,815 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