femvsfezConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#41,915
“fem” frequency rank
#26,044
“fez” frequency rank
67959
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fem fez
Definition Cinco. Tipo de gorro de fieltro con forma de cono truncado de cuya parte superior a menudo cuelga una borla

Where the eye mixes fem and fez

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
fem
3 ch
fez

Look-alike desk: fem vs fez

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fem is [fɛmˀ] while fez is [ˈfes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - m in “fem” becomes z in “fez”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67959, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fem is recorded at frequency rank #41,915, classified as anum, pronounced [fɛmˀ]. 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 67959, this pair ranks #35,750 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fem vs fez

Shared letters: ef. Private to "fem": m. Private to "fez": z.

"fem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "fez" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "fem" and "fez" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fem" is a num and "fez" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "fem" or "fez" show up more?
"fez" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,044 in our Spanish list, against #41,915 for "fem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "fem" and "fez" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fem" 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 #35,750 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fem" and "fez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fem vs fuer". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #35,750 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