LinievsLinsenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#996
“Linie” frequency rank
#15,424
“Linsen” frequency rank
16420
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Linie Linsen
Definition (gedachte) gerade oder gekrümmte Verbindung zwischen zwei Punkten Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Linse

Where the eye mixes Linie and Linsen

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

5 ch
Linie
6 ch
Linsen

Why the eye confuses Linie with Linsen

A purely visual mix-up. Linie ([ˈliːni̯ə]) and Linsen ([ˈlɪnzn̩]) 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 16420, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Linie is recorded at frequency rank #996, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈliːni̯ə]. Linsen is at rank #15,424, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɪnzn̩].

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 16420, this pair ranks #1,936,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Linie vs Linsen

Shared letters: eiln. Private to "Linie": -. Private to "Linsen": s.

"Linie" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "Linsen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Linieilnie · liine · linei · linnie · llinie · lniie
  • Linsenilnsen · linesn · linnsen · linsenn · linsne · linssen · lisnen · llinsen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Linie" and "Linsen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈliːni̯ə] versus [ˈlɪnzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Linie" vs "Linsen" - which ranks higher?
"Linie" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #996 in our German list, against #15,424 for "Linsen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Linie" and "Linsen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Linie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Linsen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,936,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Linie" and "Linsen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lenzen vs Linsen". 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 #1,936,012 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