liensvslinksWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“liens” and “links” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,598
“liens” frequency rank
#45,149
“links” frequency rank
46747
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature liens links
Definition Pluriel de lien. Terrain de golf.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set liens and links apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
liens
5 ch
links

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. liens (\ljɛ̃\) and links (\link\) 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 46747, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

liens is recorded at frequency rank #1,598, classified as anoun, pronounced \ljɛ̃\. links is at rank #45,149, tagged as anoun, pronounced \link\.

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 46747, this pair ranks #192,437 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of liens vs links

Shared letters: ilns. Private to "liens": e. Private to "links": k.

"liens" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "links" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • liensilens · leins · lienns · lienss · liesn · lliens
  • linksilnks · likns · linkks · linkss · linnks · linsk · llinks · lniks

Frequency comparison

liens#1,598
links#45,149

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "liens" and "links" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ljɛ̃\ versus \link\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "liens" or "links"?
"liens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,598 in our French list, against #45,149 for "links". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering liens vs links

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “liens” 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