LiedvslinesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,606
“Lied” frequency rank
#21,343
“lines” frequency rank
22949
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lied lines
Definition gesungenes Musikstück Plural des Substantivs line

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Lied and lines apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Lied
5 ch
lines

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lied ([liːt]) and lines ([laɪnz]) 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 22949, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lied is recorded at frequency rank #1,606, classified as anoun, pronounced [liːt]. lines is at rank #21,343, tagged as anoun, pronounced [laɪnz].

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 22949, this pair ranks #1,867,641 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lied vs lines

Shared letters: eil. Private to "Lied": d. Private to "lines": ns.

"Lied" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "lines" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Liediled · lide · liedd · llied
  • linesilnes · liens · liness · linnes · llines · lnies

Frequency comparison

Lied#1,606
lines#21,343

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lied" and "lines" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([liːt] versus [laɪnz]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lied" or "lines"?
"Lied" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,606 in our German list, against #21,343 for "lines". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Lied vs lines

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Lied” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list