Which to use
“filth” and “froth” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,914
- “filth” frequency rank
- #39,329
- “froth” frequency rank
- 56243
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | filth | froth |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dirt; foul matter; that which soils or defiles. | Foam. |
Where the eye mixes filth and froth
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. filth (CVCCC) and froth (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses filth with froth
A purely visual mix-up. filth (/fɪlθ/) and froth (/fɹɒθ/) 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 56243, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
filth is recorded at frequency rank #16,914, classified as anoun, pronounced /fɪlθ/. froth is at rank #39,329, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɹɒθ/.
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 56243, this pair ranks #127,688 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of filth vs froth
Shared letters: fht. Private to "filth": il. Private to "froth": or.
"filth" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "froth" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "filth" for "froth" ever safe?
Frequency check: "filth" vs "froth" - which ranks higher?
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 "filth" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "froth" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #127,688 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "filth" and "froth" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "foh vs froth". 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 #127,688 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.