Which to use
“foe” and “FTP” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,761
- “foe” frequency rank
- #28,555
- “FTP” frequency rank
- 43316
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foe | FTP |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hostile. | free-to-play |
Where the eye mixes foe and FTP
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses foe with FTP
A purely visual mix-up. foe (/fəʊ/) and FTP (/ˌɛf tiː ˈpiː/) 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 43316, 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/. FTP is at rank #28,555, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˌɛf tiː ˈpiː/.
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 43316, this pair ranks #241,160 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of foe vs FTP
Shared letters: f. Private to "foe": eo. Private to "FTP": pt.
"foe" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "FTP" · 3 letters · shape CCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "foe" for "FTP" ever safe?
Which is more common, "foe" or "FTP"?
After this comparison
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 "FTP" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #241,160 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foe" and "FTP" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "foh vs FTP". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #241,160 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.