混線

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 混線(こんせん) denotes crossed communication lines or a tangle of instructions or information.
• Basic usage: It describes hearing a stranger's voice over the telephone.
  • 電話が混線して知らない人の声が聞こえた。

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Lines and instructions
  • 電話が混線する concerns communication lines. 指示が混線する figuratively describes different instructions becoming tangled.
• Contrast with 混乱
  • 混乱(こんらん) broadly describes confusion or disorder. 混線 more specifically evokes different channels or messages getting mixed up.