Which to use
“fine” and “free” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #586
- “fine” frequency rank
- #211
- “free” frequency rank
- 797
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fine | free |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Senses referring to subjective quality. | Unconstrained. |
Where the eye mixes fine and free
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. fine (/faɪn/) and free (/fɹiː/) 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 797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fine is recorded at frequency rank #586, classified as anadj, pronounced /faɪn/. free is at rank #211, tagged as anadj, pronounced /fɹiː/.
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 797, this pair ranks #528,763 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fine vs free
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fine": in. Private to "free": r.
"fine" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "free" · 4 letters · shape CCVV