Which to use
“lin” and “lynx” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,118
- “lin” frequency rank
- #23,925
- “lynx” frequency rank
- 32043
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lin | lynx |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plante herbacée de la famille des Linacées, à feuilles simples, à fleurs généralement bleues, cultivée dans les pays tempérés pour ses graines oléagineuses et pour la fibre textile que fournit sa tige. | Une des espèces de félins sauvages ressemblant à un gros chat, dont la face est ornée de favoris et d’oreilles triangulaires surmontées d’une touffe de poil, et le corps doté d’une courte queue et de longues pattes. |
Where the eye mixes lin and lynx
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lin with lynx
A purely visual mix-up. lin (\lɛ̃\) and lynx (\lɛ̃ks\) 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 32043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lin is recorded at frequency rank #8,118, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛ̃\. lynx is at rank #23,925, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɛ̃ks\.
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 32043, this pair ranks #299,915 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lin vs lynx
Shared letters: ln. Private to "lin": i. Private to "lynx": xy.
"lin" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lynx" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lynx ← llynx · lnyx · lynnx · lynxx · lyxn · lyynx · ylnx
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lin" and "lynx" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lin" or "lynx"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lin" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lynx" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,915 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lin" and "lynx" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lung vs lynx". 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 #299,915 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.