# fad vs fan

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### fad
*noun · IPA /fæd/ · frequency rank #20,634*
A phenomenon that becomes popular for a very short time.

### fan
*noun · IPA /fæn/ · frequency rank #1,270*
A hand-held device consisting of concertinaed material, or slats of material, gathered together at one end, that may be opened out into the shape of a sector of a circle and waved back and forth in order to move air towards oneself and cool oneself.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fad-vs-fan