fightsvsfigsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“fights” and “figs” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,220
“fights” frequency rank
#16,913
“figs” frequency rank
22133
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fights figs
Definition plural of fight plural of fig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fights and figs apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
fights
4 ch
figs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fights (/faɪts/) and figs (/fɪɡz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22133, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fights is recorded at frequency rank #5,220, classified as anoun, pronounced /faɪts/. figs is at rank #16,913, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɪɡz/.

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 22133, this pair ranks #418,828 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fights vs figs

Shared letters: fgis. Private to "fights": ht. Private to "figs": -.

"fights" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "figs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fightsffights · fgihts · figghts · fighhts · fighst · fightss · fightts · figths
  • figsffigs · fgis · figgs · figss · fisg · ifgs

Frequency comparison

fights#5,220
figs#16,913

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fights" and "figs" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/faɪts/ versus /fɪɡz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fights" or "figs"?
"fights" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,220 in our English list, against #16,913 for "figs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fights vs figs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fights” 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