Which to use
“fies” is an adjective and “fried” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,292
- “fies” frequency rank
- #23,137
- “fried” frequency rank
- 40429
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fies | fried |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ekel erregend unangenehm | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs frieden |
Where the eye mixes fies and fried
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fies and fried
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fies is [fiːs] while fried is [fʁiːt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fies is recorded at frequency rank #17,292, classified as anadj, pronounced [fiːs]. fried is at rank #23,137, tagged as averb, pronounced [fʁiːt].
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 40429, this pair ranks #1,508,759 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fies vs fried
Shared letters: efi. Private to "fies": s. Private to "fried": dr.
"fies" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "fried" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fies" and "fried" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fies" or "fried"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fried" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,508,759 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fies" and "fried" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fried vs friere". 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 #1,508,759 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.