Which to use
“linken” and “listen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,115
- “linken” frequency rank
- #5,978
- “listen” frequency rank
- 7093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | linken | listen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden hereinlegen, täuschen | etwas mündlich aufzählen oder schriftlich anführen |
Where the eye mixes linken and listen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: linken vs listen
A purely visual mix-up. linken ([ˈlɪŋkn̩]) and listen ([ˈlɪstn̩]) 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 7093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
linken is recorded at frequency rank #1,115, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɪŋkn̩]. listen is at rank #5,978, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɪstn̩].
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 7093, this pair ranks #1,989,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of linken vs listen
Shared letters: eiln. Private to "linken": k. Private to "listen": st.
"linken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "listen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "linken" and "listen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "linken" or "listen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "linken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "listen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,989,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "linken" and "listen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "letten vs listen". 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 #1,989,403 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.