fonduevsfoodieWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“fondue” and “foodie” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#47,631
“fondue” frequency rank
#26,796
“foodie” frequency rank
74427
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fondue foodie
Definition A dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped. A person with a special interest in or knowledge of food, a gourmet.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fondue and foodie apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
fondue
6 ch
foodie

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fondue (/ˈfɒndjuː/) and foodie (/ˈfuːdi/) 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 74427, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fondue is recorded at frequency rank #47,631, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɒndjuː/. foodie is at rank #26,796, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfuːdi/.

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 74427, this pair ranks #36,361 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fondue vs foodie

Shared letters: defo. Private to "fondue": nu. Private to "foodie": i.

"fondue" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "foodie" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fondueffondue · fnodue · fodnue · fonddue · fondeu · fonndue · fonude · ofndue
  • foodieffoodie · fodie · fodoie · fooddie · foodei · fooide · ofodie

Frequency comparison

fondue#47,631
foodie#26,796

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fondue" and "foodie" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈfɒndjuː/ versus /ˈfuːdi/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fondue" or "foodie"?
"foodie" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,796 in our English list, against #47,631 for "fondue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fondue vs foodie

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fondue” 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