linevslungWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,263
“line” frequency rank
#46,871
“lung” frequency rank
55134
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature line lung
Definition Corde, fil. Poumon.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set line and lung apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
line
4 ch
lung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. line (\laɪn\) and lung (\lʌŋ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55134, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

line is recorded at frequency rank #8,263, classified as anoun, pronounced \laɪn\. lung is at rank #46,871, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lʌŋ\.

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 55134, this pair ranks #129,469 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of line vs lung

Shared letters: ln. Private to "line": ei. Private to "lung": gu.

"line" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lung" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lineilne · linne · lline · lnie
  • lungllung · lnug · lugn · lungg · lunng · ulng

Frequency comparison

line#8,263
lung#46,871

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "line" and "lung" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\laɪn\ versus \lʌŋ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "line" or "lung"?
"line" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,263 in our French list, against #46,871 for "lung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering line vs lung

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 “line” 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