lignesvslinksWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,268
“lignes” frequency rank
#45,149
“links” frequency rank
46417
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lignes links
Definition Pluriel de ligne. Terrain de golf.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
lignes
5 ch
links

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lignes (\liɲ\) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46417, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lignes is recorded at frequency rank #1,268, classified as anoun, pronounced \liɲ\. 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 46417, this pair ranks #195,110 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lignes vs links

Shared letters: ilns. Private to "lignes": eg. Private to "links": k.

"lignes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "links" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lignesilgnes · lgines · ligens · liggnes · ligness · lignnes · lignse · llignes
  • linksilnks · likns · linkks · linkss · linnks · linsk · llinks · lniks

Frequency comparison

lignes#1,268
links#45,149

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lignes" and "links" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\liɲ\ versus \link\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lignes" or "links"?
"lignes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,268 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 lignes 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 “lignes” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list