Which to use
“fails” and “fal” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,600
- “fails” frequency rank
- #43,151
- “fal” frequency rank
- 47751
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fails | fal |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of fail | Obsolete spelling of fall. |
Letter map: fails vs fal
Shared letters muted; letters that set fails and fal apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Spelling & dictionary notes on fails vs fal
fails and fal are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47751, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fails is recorded at frequency rank #4,600, classified as averb, pronounced /feɪlz/. fal is at rank #43,151, tagged as averb.
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 47751, this pair ranks #199,555 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fails vs fal
Shared letters: afl. Private to "fails": is. Private to "fal": -.
"fails" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "fal" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fails ← afils · faills · failss · faisl · falis · ffails · fials
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fails" and "fal" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "fails" or "fal" show up more?
What to do next
Pair "fails" vs "fal" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "fails" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fal" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #199,555 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fails" and "fal" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fal vs foh". 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 #199,555 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.