Which to use
“fair” is an adjective and “fui” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,036
- “fair” frequency rank
- #852
- “fui” frequency rank
- 20888
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fair | fui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dicho del juego: limpio (sin trampas). | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de ser. |
Where the eye mixes fair and fui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fair vs fui
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fair is /fɛːr/ while fui is [ˈfwi]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20888, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fair is recorded at frequency rank #20,036, classified as anadj, pronounced /fɛːr/. fui is at rank #852, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfwi].
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 20888, this pair ranks #257,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fair vs fui
Shared letters: fi. Private to "fair": ar. Private to "fui": u.
"fair" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "fui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fair ← afir · fairr · fari · ffair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fair" for "fui" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "fair" or "fui" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fair" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #257,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fair" and "fui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fair vs fuer". 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 #257,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.