Which to use
“faults” and “fruits” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,545
- “faults” frequency rank
- #6,360
- “fruits” frequency rank
- 17905
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | faults | fruits |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of fault | plural of fruit |
Where the eye mixes faults and fruits
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. faults (CVVCCC) and fruits (CCVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: faults vs fruits
A purely visual mix-up. faults (/fɔːlts/) and fruits (/fɹuːts/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17905, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
faults is recorded at frequency rank #11,545, classified as anoun, pronounced /fɔːlts/. fruits is at rank #6,360, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɹuːts/.
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 17905, this pair ranks #448,388 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of faults vs fruits
Shared letters: fstu. Private to "faults": al. Private to "fruits": ir.
"faults" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC · "fruits" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "faults" and "fruits" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "faults" vs "fruits" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "faults" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fruits" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #448,388 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "faults" and "fruits" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "frith vs fruits". 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 #448,388 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.