Which to use
“lies” and “linges” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,660
- “lies” frequency rank
- #48,013
- “linges” frequency rank
- 72673
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lies | linges |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de lie. | Pluriel de linge. |
Where the eye mixes lies and linges
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lies runs 4 letters (CVVC) against linges's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between lies and linges
A purely visual mix-up. lies (\li\) and linges (\lɛ̃ʒ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72673, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lies is recorded at frequency rank #24,660, classified as anoun, pronounced \li\. linges is at rank #48,013, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɛ̃ʒ\.
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 72673, this pair ranks #43,184 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lies vs linges
Shared letters: eils. Private to "lies": -. Private to "linges": gn.
"lies" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "linges" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lies" and "linges" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lies" or "linges"?
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 "lies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "linges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,184 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lies" and "linges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "limes vs linges". 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 #43,184 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.