Which to use
“filet” is a noun and “fills” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,982
- “filet” frequency rank
- #11,032
- “fills” frequency rank
- 48014
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | filet | fills |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alternative spelling of fillet. | third-person singular simple present indicative of fill |
Where the eye mixes filet and fills
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. filet (CVCVC) and fills (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses filet with fills
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: filet is /ˈfɪleɪ/ while fills is /fɪlz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
filet is recorded at frequency rank #36,982, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɪleɪ/. fills is at rank #11,032, tagged as averb, pronounced /fɪlz/.
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 48014, this pair ranks #197,153 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of filet vs fills
Shared letters: fil. Private to "filet": et. Private to "fills": s.
"filet" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "fills" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "filet" for "fills" ever safe?
Frequency check: "filet" vs "fills" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "filet" and "fills" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "filet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fills" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #197,153 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "filet" and "fills" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fidget vs filet". 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 #197,153 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.