Which to use
“feign” is a verb and “fig” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,234
- “feign” frequency rank
- #6,052
- “fig” frequency rank
- 54286
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feign | fig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To make a false show or pretence of; to counterfeit or simulate. | The fruit of the fig tree, pear-shaped and containing many small seeds. |
Where the eye mixes feign and fig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: feign vs fig
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feign is /feɪn/ while fig is /fɪɡ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54286, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feign is recorded at frequency rank #48,234, classified as averb, pronounced /feɪn/. fig is at rank #6,052, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɪɡ/.
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 54286, this pair ranks #142,262 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of feign vs fig
Shared letters: fgi. Private to "feign": en. Private to "fig": -.
"feign" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "fig" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- feign ← efign · fegin · feiggn · feignn · feing · ffeign · fiegn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "feign" and "fig" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "feign" or "fig"?
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 "feign" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #142,262 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feign" and "fig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feign vs Fenn". 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 #142,262 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.