filovsfineConfusable pair

Which to use

“filo” and “fine” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,668
“filo” frequency rank
#20,686
“fine” frequency rank
31354
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature filo fine
Definition En un instrumento cortante, el borde agudo que corta. Multa.

Where the eye mixes filo and fine

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

4 ch
filo
4 ch
fine

Look-alike desk: filo vs fine

A purely visual mix-up. filo ([ˈfilo]) and fine (/faɪn/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31354, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

filo is recorded at frequency rank #10,668, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfilo]. fine is at rank #20,686, tagged as anoun, pronounced /faɪn/.

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 31354, this pair ranks #207,464 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of filo vs fine

Shared letters: fi. Private to "filo": lo. Private to "fine": en.

"filo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "fine" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • filoffilo · fillo · fiol · flio · iflo
  • fineffine · fien · finne · fnie · ifne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "filo" and "fine" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfilo] versus /faɪn/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "filo" vs "fine" - which ranks higher?
"filo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,668 in our Spanish list, against #20,686 for "fine". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "filo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #207,464 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "filo" and "fine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fideo vs fine". 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 #207,464 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