Which to use
“larynx” and “lynx” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,220
- “larynx” frequency rank
- #26,871
- “lynx” frequency rank
- 68091
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | larynx | lynx |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A hollow muscular organ of the neck of mammals situated just below where the tract of the pharynx splits into the trachea and the oesophagus. It is involved in breath control and protection of the trachea, and, as it houses the vocal cords, sound production. | Any of several medium-sized wild cats of the genus Lynx. |
Where the eye mixes larynx and lynx
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. larynx runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against lynx's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between larynx and lynx
A purely visual mix-up. larynx (/ˈlæ.ɹɪŋks/) and lynx (/lɪŋks/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68091, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
larynx is recorded at frequency rank #41,220, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlæ.ɹɪŋks/. lynx is at rank #26,871, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɪŋks/.
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 68091, this pair ranks #60,467 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of larynx vs lynx
Shared letters: lnxy. Private to "larynx": ar. Private to "lynx": -.
"larynx" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "lynx" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "larynx" and "lynx" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "larynx" or "lynx" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "larynx" and "lynx" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "larynx" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lynx" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,467 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "larynx" and "lynx" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "larynx vs Layne". 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 #60,467 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.