linnvsloinWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: linn is a noun, loin is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“linn” is a noun and “loin” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#46,866
“linn” frequency rank
#348
“loin” frequency rank
47214
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature linn loin
Definition Ville. Se trouvant à une grande distance.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
linn
4 ch
loin

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: linn is \linʲˑ\ while loin is \lwɛ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47214, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

linn is recorded at frequency rank #46,866, classified as anoun, pronounced \linʲˑ\. loin is at rank #348, tagged as anadv, pronounced \lwɛ̃\.

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 47214, this pair ranks #188,654 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of linn vs loin

Shared letters: iln. Private to "linn": -. Private to "loin": o.

"linn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "loin" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • linnilnn · llinn · lnin
  • loinlloin · loinn · loni · olin

Frequency comparison

linn#46,866
loin#348

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "linn" and "loin" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "linn" is a noun and "loin" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "linn" or "loin"?
"loin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #348 in our French list, against #46,866 for "linn". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering linn vs loin

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “linn”; for an adverb, it's “loin”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “linn” 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