feovsfoodWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#3,556
“feo” frequency rank
#14,365
“food” frequency rank
17921
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feo food
Definition Que carece de belleza o hermosura. Comida, alimento.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set feo and food apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
feo
4 ch
food

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feo is [ˈfeo] while food is /fuːd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 17921, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feo is recorded at frequency rank #3,556, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfeo]. food is at rank #14,365, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fuːd/.

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 17921, this pair ranks #270,083 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of feo vs food

Shared letters: fo. Private to "feo": e. Private to "food": d.

"feo" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "food" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • foodffood · fod · fodo · foodd · ofod

Frequency comparison

feo#3,556
food#14,365

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "feo" and "food" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "feo" is an adjective and "food" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "feo" or "food"?
"feo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,556 in our Spanish list, against #14,365 for "food". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering feo vs food

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “feo”; for a noun, it's “food”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “feo” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list