lignevslignéesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#328
“ligne” frequency rank
#32,466
“lignées” frequency rank
32794
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ligne lignées
Definition Trait simple, considéré comme n’ayant ni largeur ni profondeur. — Note d’usage : Il s’emploie surtout dans les sciences mathématiques. Pluriel de lignée.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ligne and lignées apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
ligne
7 ch
lignées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ligne (\liɲ\) and lignées (\li.ɲe\) 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 32794, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ligne is recorded at frequency rank #328, classified as anoun, pronounced \liɲ\. lignées is at rank #32,466, tagged as anoun, pronounced \li.ɲe\.

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 32794, this pair ranks #294,916 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ligne vs lignées

Shared letters: egiln. Private to "ligne": -. Private to "lignées": .

"ligne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "lignées" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ligneilgne · lgine · ligen · liggne · lignne · lligne

Frequency comparison

ligne#328
lignées#32,466

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ligne" and "lignées" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\liɲ\ versus \li.ɲe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ligne" or "lignées"?
"ligne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #328 in our French list, against #32,466 for "lignées". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering ligne vs lignées

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 “ligne” 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