Which to use
“linges” and “lires” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,013
- “linges” frequency rank
- #35,129
- “lires” frequency rank
- 83142
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | linges | lires |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de linge. | Pluriel de lire. |
Where the eye mixes linges and lires
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. linges runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against lires's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses linges with lires
A purely visual mix-up. linges (\lɛ̃ʒ\) and lires (\liʁ\) 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 83142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
linges is recorded at frequency rank #48,013, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛ̃ʒ\. lires is at rank #35,129, tagged as anoun, pronounced \liʁ\.
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 83142, this pair ranks #15,381 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of linges vs lires
Shared letters: eils. Private to "linges": gn. Private to "lires": r.
"linges" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lires" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "linges" for "lires" ever safe?
Which is more common, "linges" or "lires"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "linges" and "lires" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "linges" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lires" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,381 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "linges" and "lires" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "limes vs linges". 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 #15,381 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.