fagevsfastWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fage is a noun, fast is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fage” is a noun and “fast” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,521
“fage” frequency rank
#8,544
“fast” frequency rank
57065
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fage fast
Definition Bonbon. Presque, quasiment.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
fage
4 ch
fast

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fage is \ˈfagɛ\ while fast is \fast\. 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 (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fage is recorded at frequency rank #48,521, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈfagɛ\. fast is at rank #8,544, tagged as anadv, pronounced \fast\.

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 57065, this pair ranks #117,254 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fage vs fast

Shared letters: af. Private to "fage": eg. Private to "fast": st.

"fage" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "fast" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fageafge · faeg · fagge · ffage · fgae
  • fastafst · fasst · fastt · fats · ffast · fsat

Frequency comparison

fage#48,521
fast#8,544

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fage" and "fast" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fage" is a noun and "fast" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fage" or "fast"?
"fast" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,544 in our French list, against #48,521 for "fage". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fage vs fast

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “fage”; for an adverb, it's “fast”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fage” 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