lingevslongsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: linge is a noun, longs is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“linge” is a noun and “longs” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,842
“linge” frequency rank
#3,271
“longs” frequency rank
10113
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature linge longs
Definition Tissu de fil ou de coton servant à l’usage du corps ou à des emplois domestiques. Masculin pluriel de long.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
linge
5 ch
longs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

linge and longs form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10113, 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\. longs is at rank #3,271, tagged as anadj, pronounced \lɔ̃\.

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 10113, this pair ranks #414,178 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

linge#6,842
longs#3,271

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "linge" and "longs" be used interchangeably?
No, "linge" and "longs" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering linge vs longs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “linge”; for an adjective, it's “longs”.
  • 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