linkvslynWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,108
“link” frequency rank
#25,833
“lyn” frequency rank
26941
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature link lyn
Definition A connection between places, people, events, things, or ideas. Alternative form of linn (“waterfall”).

Where the eye mixes link and lyn

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
link
3 ch
lyn

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. link (/lɪŋk/) and lyn (/lɪn/) 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 26941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

link is recorded at frequency rank #1,108, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɪŋk/. lyn is at rank #25,833, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɪn/.

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 26941, this pair ranks #382,873 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of link vs lyn

Shared letters: ln. Private to "link": ik. Private to "lyn": y.

"link" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "lyn" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • linkilnk · likn · linkk · linnk · llink · lnik

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "link" and "lyn" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/lɪŋk/ versus /lɪn/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "link" or "lyn"?
"link" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,108 in our English list, against #25,833 for "lyn". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "link" and "lyn". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "link" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lyn" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #382,873 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "link" and "lyn" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "LSC vs lyn". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list