Which to use
“fine” is a noun and “fue” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,686
- “fine” frequency rank
- #44
- “fue” frequency rank
- 20730
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fine | fue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Multa. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de ir. |
Where the eye mixes fine and fue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fine and fue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fine is /faɪn/ while fue is [ˈfwe]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20730, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fine is recorded at frequency rank #20,686, classified as anoun, pronounced /faɪn/. fue is at rank #44, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfwe].
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 20730, this pair ranks #258,046 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fine vs fue
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fine": in. Private to "fue": u.
"fine" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fue" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fine ← ffine · fien · finne · fnie · ifne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fine" and "fue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "fine" or "fue" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #258,046 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fine" and "fue" 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 #258,046 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.