lignevslinnWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#328
“ligne” frequency rank
#46,866
“linn” frequency rank
47194
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ligne and linn apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
ligne
4 ch
linn

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ligne (\liɲ\) and linn (\linʲˑ\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47194, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ligne is recorded at frequency rank #328, classified as anoun, pronounced \liɲ\. linn is at rank #46,866, tagged as anoun, pronounced \linʲˑ\.

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 47194, this pair ranks #188,818 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ligne vs linn

Shared letters: iln. Private to "ligne": eg. Private to "linn": -.

"ligne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "linn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ligneilgne · lgine · ligen · liggne · lignne · lligne
  • linnilnn · llinn · lnin

Frequency comparison

ligne#328
linn#46,866

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ligne" and "linn" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\liɲ\ versus \linʲˑ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ligne" or "linn"?
"ligne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #328 in our French list, against #46,866 for "linn". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering ligne vs linn

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