Which to use
“face” and “fai” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,118
- “face” frequency rank
- #40,830
- “fai” frequency rank
- 48948
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | face | fai |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante obsoleta de hace. | Tercera persona del singular (el, ela, vostede) del presente de indicativo de facer. |
Where the eye mixes face and fai
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. face runs 4 letters (CVCV) against fai's 3 (CVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between face and fai
A purely visual mix-up. face ([ˈfase]) and fai ([ˈfa̠j]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48948, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
face is recorded at frequency rank #8,118, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfase]. fai is at rank #40,830, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfa̠j].
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 48948, this pair ranks #111,607 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of face vs fai
Shared letters: af. Private to "face": ce. Private to "fai": i.
"face" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fai" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- face ← afce · facce · faec · fcae · fface
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "face" and "fai" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "face" vs "fai" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "face" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fai" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #111,607 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "face" and "fai" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fai vs falo". 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 #111,607 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.