Which to use
“fed” is a verb and “fil” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,409
- “fed” frequency rank
- #38,124
- “fil” frequency rank
- 57533
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fed | fil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pasado simple del verbo (to) feed. | Elefante. |
Where the eye mixes fed and fil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fed vs fil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fed is /fɛd/ while fil is [ˈfil]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fed is recorded at frequency rank #19,409, classified as averb, pronounced /fɛd/. fil is at rank #38,124, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfil].
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 57533, this pair ranks #70,140 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fed vs fil
Shared letters: f. Private to "fed": de. Private to "fil": il.
"fed" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fil" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fed" and "fil" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "fed" or "fil" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "fed" and "fil" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,140 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fed" and "fil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fil vs filos". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #70,140 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.