Linux
[ˈliːnʊks]
The verdict
“Linux” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #6,217 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #6,217
- frequency rank, German
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 14
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - der Name eines freien Betriebssystemkernels
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Linux |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈliːnʊks] |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #6,217 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 14 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Linux” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Linux is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈliːnʊks]. Corpus data places it at rank #6,217 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Linux, with forms such as "ilnux", "linnux", and "linuxx". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "Lux", "Linz", "lin", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Linux, spelled L-I-N-U-X.
Definition
- 1der Name eines freien Betriebssystemkernels
- 2ein auf dem Linux-Kernel aufbauendes Betriebssystem
- 3der Name eines Asteroiden, genaue Bezeichnung: „(9885) Linux“
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ilnux,linnux,linuxx,linxu,liunx,llinux,lniux
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Linux - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “Linux”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is L-I-N-U-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈliːnʊks] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Lux” - see the side-by-side comparison. Linux vs Lux
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.