Which to use
“Fes” and “fils” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,338
- “Fes” frequency rank
- #49,670
- “fils” frequency rank
- 89008
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Fes | fils |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | orientalische Kopfbedeckung | männlicher Nachkomme: Sohn |
Where the eye mixes Fes and fils
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Fes runs 3 letters (CVC) against fils's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Fes with fils
A purely visual mix-up. Fes ([feːs]) and fils ([fis]) 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 89008, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Fes is recorded at frequency rank #39,338, classified as anoun, pronounced [feːs]. fils is at rank #49,670, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fis].
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 89008, this pair ranks #61,966 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Fes vs fils
Shared letters: fs. Private to "Fes": e. Private to "fils": il.
"Fes" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fils" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fils ← ffils · fills · filss · fisl · flis · ifls
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Fes" for "fils" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Fes" or "fils"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Fes" and "fils" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Fes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fils" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #61,966 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Fes" and "fils" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fils vs fist". 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 #61,966 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.