Which to use
“fai” is a verb and “fate” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,830
- “fai” frequency rank
- #42,443
- “fate” frequency rank
- 83273
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fai | fate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (el, ela, vostede) del presente de indicativo de facer. | Vanidosa, forma femenina singular del adjetivo fat. |
Where the eye mixes fai and fate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fai runs 3 letters (CVV) against fate's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fai and fate
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fai is [ˈfa̠j] while fate is [fat]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fai is recorded at frequency rank #40,830, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfa̠j]. fate is at rank #42,443, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fat].
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 83273, this pair ranks #8,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fai vs fate
Shared letters: af. Private to "fai": i. Private to "fate": et.
"fai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "fate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fate ← afte · faet · fatte · ffate · ftae
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fai" for "fate" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fai" vs "fate" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #8,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fai" and "fate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fate vs fuste". 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 #8,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.