Which to use
“fond” is an adjective and “fondue” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,424
- “fond” frequency rank
- #47,631
- “fondue” frequency rank
- 56055
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fond | fondue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having a liking or affection (for). | A dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fond and fondue apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fond is /fɒnd/ while fondue is /ˈfɒndjuː/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fond” sits inside “fondue”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fond is recorded at frequency rank #8,424, classified as anadj, pronounced /fɒnd/. fondue is at rank #47,631, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɒndjuː/.
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 56055, this pair ranks #129,068 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fond vs fondue
Shared letters: dfno. Private to "fond": -. Private to "fondue": eu.
"fond" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "fondue" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fond" and "fondue" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fond" or "fondue"?
Remembering fond vs fondue
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “fond”; for a noun, it's “fondue”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fond” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable