linesvsLinseWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#21,343
“lines” frequency rank
#18,972
“Linse” frequency rank
40315
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lines Linse
Definition Plural des Substantivs line Vertreter der Gattung Lens aus der Familie der Schmetterlingsblütler, insbesondere Lens culinaris

Where the eye mixes lines and Linse

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

5 ch
lines
5 ch
Linse

Visual trap between lines and Linse

A purely visual mix-up. lines ([laɪnz]) and Linse ([ˈlɪnzə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (es ↔ se) - a transposition the eye reads straight past. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lines is recorded at frequency rank #21,343, classified as anoun, pronounced [laɪnz]. Linse is at rank #18,972, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɪnzə].

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 40315, this pair ranks #1,511,999 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lines vs Linse

Shared letters: eilns. Private to "lines": -. Private to "Linse": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • linesilnes · liens · liness · linnes · llines · lnies
  • Linseilnse · linnse · linsse · lisne · llinse · lnise

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lines" and "Linse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([laɪnz] versus [ˈlɪnzə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lines" or "Linse"?
"Linse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,972 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 "lines" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Linse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,511,999 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lines" and "Linse" 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 #1,511,999 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