Which to use
“fear” and “fra” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,709
- “fear” frequency rank
- #22,703
- “fra” frequency rank
- 61412
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fear | fra |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Varón. | Fray (antes de un nombre propio). |
Where the eye mixes fear and fra
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fear runs 4 letters (CVVC) against fra's 3 (CCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fear with fra
A purely visual mix-up. fear ([fɛɾ]) and fra ([ˈfɾa]) 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 61412, 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]. fra is at rank #22,703, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɾa].
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 61412, this pair ranks #55,561 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fear vs fra
Shared letters: afr. Private to "fear": e. Private to "fra": -.
"fear" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "fra" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fear ← efar · faer · fearr · fera · ffear
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fear" for "fra" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fear" vs "fra" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fear" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #55,561 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fear" and "fra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fear 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 #55,561 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.