Which to use
“linge” and “lung” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,842
- “linge” frequency rank
- #46,871
- “lung” frequency rank
- 53713
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | linge | lung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tissu de fil ou de coton servant à l’usage du corps ou à des emplois domestiques. | Poumon. |
Where the eye mixes linge and lung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses linge with lung
A purely visual mix-up. linge (\lɛ̃ʒ\) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53713, 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\. 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 53713, this pair ranks #138,889 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of linge vs lung
Shared letters: gln. Private to "linge": ei. Private to "lung": u.
"linge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "lung" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "linge" for "lung" ever safe?
Which is more common, "linge" or "lung"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "linge" and "lung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "linge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #138,889 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "linge" and "lung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "longo vs lung". 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 #138,889 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.