Which to use
“feces” and “files” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,795
- “feces” frequency rank
- #3,232
- “files” frequency rank
- 25027
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feces | files |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Digested waste material (typically solid or semi-solid) discharged from a human or other mammal's stomach to the intestines; excrement. | plural of file |
Where the eye mixes feces and files
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses feces with files
A purely visual mix-up. feces (/ˈfiːsiːz/) and files (/faɪlz/) 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 25027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feces is recorded at frequency rank #21,795, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfiːsiːz/. files is at rank #3,232, tagged as anoun, pronounced /faɪlz/.
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 25027, this pair ranks #397,487 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of feces vs files
Shared letters: efs. Private to "feces": c. Private to "files": il.
"feces" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "files" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "feces" for "files" ever safe?
Which is more common, "feces" or "files"?
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 "feces" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "files" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #397,487 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feces" and "files" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feces vs Fells". 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 #397,487 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.