LindevsLinuxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,426
“Linde” frequency rank
#6,217
“Linux” frequency rank
19643
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Linde Linux
Definition Laubbaum der Gattung Tilia der Name eines freien Betriebssystemkernels

Where the eye mixes Linde and Linux

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

5 ch
Linde
5 ch
Linux

Visual trap between Linde and Linux

A purely visual mix-up. Linde ([ˈlɪndə]) and Linux ([ˈliːnʊks]) 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 19643, 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]. Linux is at rank #6,217, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈliːnʊks].

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 19643, this pair ranks #1,906,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Linde vs Linux

Shared letters: iln. Private to "Linde": de. Private to "Linux": ux.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lindeilnde · lidne · lindde · lined · linnde · llinde · lnide
  • Linuxilnux · linnux · linuxx · linxu · liunx · llinux · lniux

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Linde" and "Linux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlɪndə] versus [ˈliːnʊks]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Linde" or "Linux" show up more?
"Linux" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,217 in our German list, against #13,426 for "Linde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Linde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Linux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,906,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Linde" and "Linux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Linde vs lindert". 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 #1,906,162 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