Which to use
“fond” is an adjective and “foo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,424
- “fond” frequency rank
- #18,562
- “foo” frequency rank
- 26986
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fond | foo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having a liking or affection (for). | Alternative form of fu: an administrative subdivision of imperial China; the capital of such divisions. |
Where the eye mixes fond and foo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fond with foo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fond is /fɒnd/ while foo is /fuː/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26986, 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/. 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 26986, this pair ranks #382,509 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fond vs foo
Shared letters: fo. Private to "fond": dn. Private to "foo": -.
"fond" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "foo" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fond ← ffond · fnod · fodn · fondd · fonnd · ofnd
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fond" for "foo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fond" vs "foo" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fond" and "foo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fond" 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 #382,509 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fond" and "foo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "FOMO vs foo". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #382,509 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.