Which to use
“fear” and “fes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,709
- “fear” frequency rank
- #38,122
- “fes” frequency rank
- 76831
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fear | fes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Varón. | Forma del plural de fe. |
Where the eye mixes fear and fes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fear runs 4 letters (CVVC) against fes's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fear with fes
A purely visual mix-up. fear ([fɛɾ]) and fes ([ˈfes]) 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 76831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fear is recorded at frequency rank #38,709, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɾ]. fes is at rank #38,122, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfes].
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 76831, this pair ranks #17,026 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fear vs fes
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fear": ar. Private to "fes": s.
"fear" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "fes" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fear ← efar · faer · fearr · fera · ffear
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fear" and "fes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fear" or "fes"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fear" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,026 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fear" and "fes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "faces vs fes". 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 #17,026 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.