Which to use
“linn” and “list” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,865
- “linn” frequency rank
- #531
- “list” frequency rank
- 27396
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | linn | list |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A waterfall or cataract (torrent of water running over a rocky bed), or a ravine down which such a waterfall rushes. | A strip of fabric, especially from the edge of a piece of cloth. |
Where the eye mixes linn and list
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: linn vs list
A purely visual mix-up. linn (/lɪn/) and list (/lɪst/) 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 27396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
linn is recorded at frequency rank #26,865, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɪn/. list is at rank #531, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɪst/.
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 27396, this pair ranks #379,241 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of linn vs list
Shared letters: il. Private to "linn": n. Private to "list": st.
"linn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "list" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "linn" and "list" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "linn" or "list"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "linn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "list" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #379,241 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "linn" and "list" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "liken vs linn". 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 #379,241 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.