likesvsLinusWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: likes is a verb, Linus is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“likes” is a verb and “Linus” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,771
“likes” frequency rank
#22,420
“Linus” frequency rank
39191
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature likes Linus
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs like männlicher Vorname

Letter map: likes vs Linus

Shared letters muted; letters that set likes and Linus apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
likes
5 ch
Linus

Role in the sentence - likes and Linus

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: likes is averb and Linusaname. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39191, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

likes is recorded at frequency rank #16,771, classified as averb, pronounced […]. Linus is at rank #22,420, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈliːnʊs].

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 39191, this pair ranks #1,543,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of likes vs Linus

Shared letters: ils. Private to "likes": ek. Private to "Linus": nu.

"likes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Linus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • likesilkes · lieks · likess · likkes · likse · lkies · llikes
  • Linusilnus · linnus · linsu · linuss · liuns · llinus · lnius

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "likes" and "Linus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "likes" is a verb and "Linus" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "likes" or "Linus" show up more?
"likes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,771 in our German list, against #22,420 for "Linus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "likes" and "Linus".

  • Full dictionary entry for "likes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Linus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,543,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "likes" and "Linus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "likes vs puzzles". 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 #1,543,552 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