Which to use
“libre” is an adjective and “ligne” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #648
- “libre” frequency rank
- #328
- “ligne” frequency rank
- 976
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | libre | ligne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a le pouvoir de faire ce qu’il veut, d’agir ou de ne pas agir, par opposition à esclave, servile, ou par opposition à captif, prisonnier. | Trait simple, considéré comme n’ayant ni largeur ni profondeur. — Note d’usage : Il s’emploie surtout dans les sciences mathématiques. |
Where the eye mixes libre and ligne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between libre and ligne
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: libre is \libʁ\ while ligne is \liɲ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 976, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
libre is recorded at frequency rank #648, classified as anadj, pronounced \libʁ\. ligne is at rank #328, tagged as anoun, pronounced \liɲ\.
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 976, this pair ranks #438,819 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of libre vs ligne
Shared letters: eil. Private to "libre": br. Private to "ligne": gn.
"libre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "ligne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "libre" and "ligne" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "libre" vs "ligne" - which ranks higher?
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 "libre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ligne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #438,819 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "libre" and "ligne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "libre vs Livry". 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 #438,819 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.