likesvslineWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“likes” and “line” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,907
“likes” frequency rank
#306
“line” frequency rank
2213
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature likes line
Definition plural of like A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight.

Where the eye mixes likes and line

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

5 ch
likes
4 ch
line

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. likes (/laɪks/) and line (/laɪn/) 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 2213, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

likes is recorded at frequency rank #1,907, classified as anoun, pronounced /laɪks/. line is at rank #306, tagged as anoun, pronounced /laɪn/.

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 2213, this pair ranks #525,560 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of likes vs line

Shared letters: eil. Private to "likes": ks. Private to "line": n.

"likes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "line" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • likesilkes · lieks · likess · likkes · likse · lkies · llikes
  • lineilne · linne · lline · lnie

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "likes" and "line" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/laɪks/ versus /laɪn/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "likes" or "line"?
"line" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #306 in our English list, against #1,907 for "likes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list