fai vs fem, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“fai” is a verb and “fem” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,830
“fai” frequency rank: #41,915
“fem” frequency rank: 82745
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	fai	fem
Definition	Tercera persona del singular (el, ela, vostede) del presente de indicativo de facer.	Cinco.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fai and fem apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

fai

3 ch

fem

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fai is [ˈfa̠j] while fem is [fɛmˀ]. 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 (verb vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82745, 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]. fem is at rank #41,915, tagged as anum, pronounced [fɛmˀ].

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 82745, this pair ranks #8,916 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fai vs fem

Shared letters: f. Private to "fai": ai. Private to "fem": em.

"fai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "fem" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

fai#40,830

fem#41,915

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fai" and "fem" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fai" is a verb and "fem" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "fai" or "fem"?

"fai" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,830 in our Spanish list, against #41,915 for "fem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fai vs fem

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fai”; for a num, it's “fem”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fai” entry
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