Which to use
“fond” is an adjective and “four” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,424
- “fond” frequency rank
- #272
- “four” frequency rank
- 8696
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fond | four |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having a liking or affection (for). | A numerical value equal to 4; the number after three and before five; two plus two. This many dots (••••) |
Where the eye mixes fond and four
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fond and four
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fond is /fɒnd/ while four is /foɹ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8696, 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/. four is at rank #272, tagged as anum, pronounced /foɹ/.
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 8696, this pair ranks #501,181 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fond vs four
Shared letters: fo. Private to "fond": dn. Private to "four": ru.
"fond" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "four" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fond" for "four" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fond" vs "four" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fond" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "four" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #501,181 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fond" and "four" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "FOMO vs fond". 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 #501,181 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.