femvsfutConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#41,915
“fem” frequency rank
#39,242
“fut” frequency rank
81157
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fem fut
Definition Cinco. Pasado simple del modo indicativo del verbo être y para il/elle/on.

Where the eye mixes fem and fut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. fem and fut follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
fem
3 ch
fut

Look-alike desk: fem vs fut

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fem is [fɛmˀ] while fut is /fy/. 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 (num vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81157, 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]. fut is at rank #39,242, tagged as averb, pronounced /fy/.

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 81157, this pair ranks #10,748 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fem vs fut

Shared letters: f. Private to "fem": em. Private to "fut": tu.

"fem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "fut" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fem" for "fut" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fem" is a num and "fut" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "fem" vs "fut" - which ranks higher?
"fut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,242 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.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "fem" and "fut" 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 "fut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #10,748 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fem" and "fut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fuste vs fut". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #10,748 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