fohvsfouWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: foh is a intj, fou is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“foh” is an intj and “fou” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,923
“foh” frequency rank
#48,244
“fou” frequency rank
98167
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature foh fou
Definition An exclamation of abhorrence or contempt. Drunk.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set foh and fou apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
foh
3 ch
fou

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: foh is anintj and fouanadjective. On the page they differ by a single letter - h in “foh” becomes u in “fou”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 98167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

foh is recorded at frequency rank #49,923, classified as anintj. 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 98167, this pair ranks #174 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of foh vs fou

Shared letters: fo. Private to "foh": h. Private to "fou": u.

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

Frequency comparison

foh#49,923
fou#48,244

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "foh" and "fou" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "foh" is an intj and "fou" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "foh" or "fou"?
"fou" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #48,244 in our English list, against #49,923 for "foh". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering foh vs fou

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “foh”; for an adjective, it's “fou”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “foh” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list