# fail vs failed

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### fail
*verb · IPA /feɪl/ · frequency rank #2,441*
To be unsuccessful.

### failed
*verb · IPA /feɪld/ · frequency rank #1,596*
simple past and past participle of fail

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