fief

\fjɛf\

/\fjɛf\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“fief” has 5 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #9,833. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,833
frequency rank, French
3,276
“F” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Domaine noble dont le détenteur, le vassal, devait l’hommage et ordinairement aussi quelque redevance, quelque service, etc., au seigneur, possesseur du domaine.

Corpus desk

Index FR-fief · fief · French

fief · rank #9,833 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,833
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,276
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ferrand

Nearest frequency peer: Ferrand (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « fief »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « fief » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fief vs fin
50% similar
fief vs fil
50% similar
fief vs fit
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fief
PropertyValue
Headwordfief
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fjɛf\
Letters4
Frequency rank#9,833
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « fief »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).fiefse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « Ferrand » (#9,832), « fixés » (#9,834), « feras » (#9,831). Parmi 3,276 lemmes en « F », « fief » est au #9,833. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around fief (IPA \fjɛf\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,833 among 3,276 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for fief, with forms such as "feif", "ffief", and "fieff". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fin", "fil", "fit", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is fief, spelled F-I-E-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    Domaine noble dont le détenteur, le vassal, devait l’hommage et ordinairement aussi quelque redevance, quelque service, etc., au seigneur, possesseur du domaine.
  2. 2
    Domaine où quelqu’un est maître ou s’est érigé en maître.
  3. 3
    Type de bien-fonds.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how fief appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Après la prise de Verdun, Clovîs qui venait chasser à Douzy, donna à un de ses leudes les fiefs autour de Grandpré.
  2. Le système d’hérédité des fiefs était plus favorable au vassal qui consolidait son droit patrimonial, mais le seigneur concédant pouvait en souffrir dans le cas où le fief tombait aux mains d'un héritier mineur.

This word in other languages

fief(English)feudo(Español)Lehen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • feif
  • ffief
  • fieff
  • fife
  • ifef

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fief - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

feif2ffief1fieff1fife2ifef2
Edit distance from "fief"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fief"?
"fief" is spelled F-I-E-F. The IPA pronunciation is \fjɛf\.
What does "fief" mean?
As a noun, "fief" means: Domaine noble dont le détenteur, le vassal, devait l’hommage et ordinairement aussi quelque redevance, quelque service, etc., au seigneur, possesseur du domaine.
What words are commonly confused with "fief"?
"fief" is commonly confused with "fin", "fil", "fit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fief"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fief" is \fjɛf\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "fief" come from?
"fief" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fief", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

lens#9,866cerf#9,795mens#9,872Mlle#9,874

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

fouet5 variantspois5 variantssire5 variantsselle5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list