lingevslinksWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,842
“linge” frequency rank
#45,149
“links” frequency rank
51991
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature linge links
Definition Tissu de fil ou de coton servant à l’usage du corps ou à des emplois domestiques. Terrain de golf.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
linge
5 ch
links

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. linge (\lɛ̃ʒ\) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51991, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

linge is recorded at frequency rank #6,842, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛ̃ʒ\. 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 51991, this pair ranks #150,952 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of linge vs links

Shared letters: iln. Private to "linge": eg. Private to "links": ks.

"linge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "links" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lingeilnge · lineg · lingge · linnge · llinge · lnige
  • linksilnks · likns · linkks · linkss · linnks · linsk · llinks · lniks

Frequency comparison

linge#6,842
links#45,149

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "linge" and "links" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\lɛ̃ʒ\ versus \link\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "linge" or "links"?
"linge" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,842 in our French list, against #45,149 for "links". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering linge 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 “linge” 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