LindevslinesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,426
“Linde” frequency rank
#21,343
“lines” frequency rank
34769
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Linde lines
Definition Laubbaum der Gattung Tilia Plural des Substantivs line

Where the eye mixes Linde and lines

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

5 ch
Linde
5 ch
lines

Why the eye confuses Linde with lines

A purely visual mix-up. Linde ([ˈlɪndə]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Linde is recorded at frequency rank #13,426, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɪndə]. 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 34769, this pair ranks #1,655,699 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Linde vs lines

Shared letters: eiln. Private to "Linde": d. Private to "lines": s.

"Linde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "lines" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lindeilnde · lidne · lindde · lined · linnde · llinde · lnide
  • linesilnes · liens · liness · linnes · llines · lnies

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Linde" for "lines" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlɪndə] versus [laɪnz]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Linde" or "lines"?
"Linde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,426 in our German list, against #21,343 for "lines". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Linde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lines" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,655,699 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Linde" and "lines" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lines vs Loses". 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 #1,655,699 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