felizvsfezConfusable pair

Quick tell: feliz is a adjective, fez is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“feliz” is an adjective and “fez” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#659
“feliz” frequency rank
#26,044
“fez” frequency rank
26703
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feliz fez
Definition Que siente felicidad. Tipo de gorro de fieltro con forma de cono truncado de cuya parte superior a menudo cuelga una borla

Where the eye mixes feliz and fez

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. feliz runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against fez's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
feliz
3 ch
fez

Why the eye confuses feliz with fez

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feliz is [feˈlis] while fez is [ˈfes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feliz is recorded at frequency rank #659, classified as anadj, pronounced [feˈlis]. fez is at rank #26,044, 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 26703, this pair ranks #230,369 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of feliz vs fez

Shared letters: efz. Private to "feliz": il. Private to "fez": -.

"feliz" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "fez" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • feliz ← efliz · feilz · felizz · felliz · felzi · ffeliz · fleiz

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "feliz" and "fez" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "feliz" is an adjective and "fez" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "feliz" vs "fez" - which ranks higher?
"feliz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #659 in our Spanish list, against #26,044 for "fez". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "feliz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #230,369 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "feliz" and "fez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fez 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 #230,369 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list