lukevslungWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: luke is a preposition, lung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“luke” is a preposition and “lung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,732
“luke” frequency rank
#46,871
“lung” frequency rank
55603
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature luke lung
Definition Sans considération pour, sans tenir compte de. Poumon.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set luke and lung apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
luke
4 ch
lung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: luke is \ˈlukɛ\ while lung is \lʌŋ\. 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 (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55603, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

luke is recorded at frequency rank #8,732, classified as aprep, pronounced \ˈlukɛ\. 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 55603, this pair ranks #126,424 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of luke vs lung

Shared letters: lu. Private to "luke": ek. Private to "lung": gn.

"luke" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lung" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lukelkue · lluke · luek · lukke · ulke
  • lungllung · lnug · lugn · lungg · lunng · ulng

Frequency comparison

luke#8,732
lung#46,871

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "luke" and "lung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "luke" is a preposition and "lung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "luke" or "lung"?
"luke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,732 in our French list, against #46,871 for "lung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering luke vs lung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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