fievsfoieWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fie is a intj, foie is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fie” is an intj and “foie” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,929
“fie” frequency rank
#42,645
“foie” frequency rank
88574
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fie foie
Definition Sometimes followed by on or upon: used to express distaste, disgust, or outrage. Ellipsis of foie gras.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fie and foie apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
fie
4 ch
foie

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: fie is anintj and foieanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fie is recorded at frequency rank #45,929, classified as anintj, pronounced /faɪ/. foie is at rank #42,645, tagged as anoun.

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 88574, this pair ranks #6,168 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fie vs foie

Shared letters: efi. Private to "fie": -. Private to "foie": o.

"fie" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "foie" · 4 letters · shape CVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • foieffoie · fioe · foei · ofie

Frequency comparison

fie#45,929
foie#42,645

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fie" and "foie" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fie" is an intj and "foie" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fie" or "foie"?
"foie" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42,645 in our English list, against #45,929 for "fie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fie vs foie

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “fie”; for a noun, it's “foie”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fie” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list