fitvsfouWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,185
“fit” frequency rank
#48,244
“fou” frequency rank
49429
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fit fou
Definition Suitable; proper Drunk.

Letter map: fit vs fou

Shared letters muted; letters that set fit and fou apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
fit
3 ch
fou

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

fit and fou are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fit is recorded at frequency rank #1,185, classified as anadj, pronounced /fɪt/. fou is at rank #48,244, tagged as anadj.

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 49429, this pair ranks #183,700 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fit vs fou

Shared letters: f. Private to "fit": it. Private to "fou": ou.

"fit" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "fou" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fit" and "fou" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "fit" or "fou"?
"fit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,185 in our English list, against #48,244 for "fou". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list