LinkevsLukeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,185
“Linke” frequency rank
#9,945
“Luke” frequency rank
11130
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Linke Luke
Definition die links gelegene Hand eine klappbare Tür; eine verschließbare Öffnung

Where the eye mixes Linke and Luke

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

5 ch
Linke
4 ch
Luke

Visual trap between Linke and Luke

A purely visual mix-up. Linke ([ˈlɪŋkə]) and Luke ([ˈluːkə]) 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 11130, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Linke is recorded at frequency rank #1,185, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɪŋkə]. Luke is at rank #9,945, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈluːkə].

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 11130, this pair ranks #1,971,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Linke vs Luke

Shared letters: ekl. Private to "Linke": in. Private to "Luke": u.

"Linke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Luke" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Linkeilnke · likne · linek · linkke · linnke · llinke · lnike
  • Lukelkue · lluke · luek · lukke · ulke

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Linke" for "Luke" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlɪŋkə] versus [ˈluːkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Linke" or "Luke"?
"Linke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,185 in our German list, against #9,945 for "Luke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Linke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Luke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,971,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Linke" and "Luke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs Luke". 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 #1,971,549 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