Which to use
“foe” is an adjective and “foo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,761
- “foe” frequency rank
- #18,562
- “foo” frequency rank
- 33323
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foe | foo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hostile. | Alternative form of fu: an administrative subdivision of imperial China; the capital of such divisions. |
Where the eye mixes foe and foo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: foe vs foo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: foe is /fəʊ/ while foo is /fuː/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “foe” becomes o in “foo”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33323, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foe is recorded at frequency rank #14,761, classified as anadj, pronounced /fəʊ/. foo is at rank #18,562, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fuː/.
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 33323, this pair ranks #330,431 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of foe vs foo
Shared letters: fo. Private to "foe": e. Private to "foo": -.
"foe" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "foo" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "foe" for "foo" ever safe?
Which is more common, "foe" or "foo"?
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 "foe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "foo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #330,431 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foe" and "foo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "FOMO vs foo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #330,431 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.