likevslinesWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: like is a verb, lines is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“like” is a verb and “lines” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,748
“like” frequency rank
#42,009
“lines” frequency rank
47757
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature like lines
Definition Gustar. La forma exterior o proporciones de un barco, edificio, etcétera.

Where the eye mixes like and lines

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

4 ch
like
5 ch
lines

Look-alike desk: like vs lines

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: like is /laɪk/ while lines is /laɪnz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47757, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

like is recorded at frequency rank #5,748, classified as averb, pronounced /laɪk/. lines is at rank #42,009, tagged as anoun, pronounced /laɪnz/.

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 47757, this pair ranks #118,291 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of like vs lines

Shared letters: eil. Private to "like": k. Private to "lines": ns.

"like" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lines" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • likeilke · liek · likke · lkie · llike
  • linesilnes · liens · liness · linnes · llines · lnies

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "like" and "lines" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "like" is a verb and "lines" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "like" or "lines"?
"like" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,748 in our Spanish list, against #42,009 for "lines". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "like" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lines" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #118,291 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "like" and "lines" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lies vs lines". 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 #118,291 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list