linksvslionsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,149
“links” frequency rank
#7,456
“lions” frequency rank
52605
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature links lions
Definition Terrain de golf. Pluriel de lion.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set links and lions apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
links
5 ch
lions

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. links (\link\) and lions (\ljɔ̃\) 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 52605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

links is recorded at frequency rank #45,149, classified as anoun, pronounced \link\. lions is at rank #7,456, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ljɔ̃\.

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 52605, this pair ranks #146,545 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of links vs lions

Shared letters: ilns. Private to "links": k. Private to "lions": o.

"links" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "lions" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • linksilnks · likns · linkks · linkss · linnks · linsk · llinks · lniks
  • lionsilons · linos · lionns · lionss · liosn · llions

Frequency comparison

links#45,149
lions#7,456

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "links" and "lions" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\link\ versus \ljɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "links" or "lions"?
"lions" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,456 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 links vs lions

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 “links” 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