librevslinceWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: libre is a adjective, lince is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“libre” is an adjective and “lince” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#468
“libre” frequency rank
#26,906
“lince” frequency rank
27374
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature libre lince
Definition Que puede obrar o decidir según su propia voluntad. Mamífero carnívoro de la familia félidos, muy parecido al gato montés.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set libre and lince apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
libre
5 ch
lince

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

libre and lince form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27374, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

libre is recorded at frequency rank #468, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈliβ̞ɾe]. lince is at rank #26,906, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlĩnse].

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 27374, this pair ranks #227,121 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

libre#468
lince#26,906

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "libre" and "lince" be used interchangeably?
No, "libre" and "lince" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering libre vs lince

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “libre”; for a noun, it's “lince”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “libre” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list