Which to use
“faibles” and “fatales” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,257
- “faibles” frequency rank
- #33,259
- “fatales” frequency rank
- 36516
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | faibles | fatales |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de faible. | Féminin pluriel de fatal. |
Where the eye mixes faibles and fatales
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. faibles (CVVCCVC) and fatales (CVCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between faibles and fatales
A purely visual mix-up. faibles (\fɛbl\) and fatales (\fa.tal\) 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 36516, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
faibles is recorded at frequency rank #3,257, classified as anadj, pronounced \fɛbl\. fatales is at rank #33,259, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fa.tal\.
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 36516, this pair ranks #269,043 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of faibles vs fatales
Shared letters: aefls. Private to "faibles": bi. Private to "fatales": t.
"faibles" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "fatales" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "faibles" and "fatales" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "faibles" vs "fatales" - which ranks higher?
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 "faibles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fatales" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #269,043 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "faibles" and "fatales" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fœtale vs fatales". 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 #269,043 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.