fairvsfairesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“fair” and “faires” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,853
“fair” frequency rank
#46,749
“faires” frequency rank
55602
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fair faires
Definition Correct Accusatif neutre singulier de la déclinaison forte de fair.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fair and faires apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
fair
6 ch
faires

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fair (\fɛːɐ̯\) and faires (\ˈfɛːʁəs\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fair” sits inside “faires”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fair is recorded at frequency rank #8,853, classified as anadj, pronounced \fɛːɐ̯\. faires is at rank #46,749, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈfɛːʁəs\.

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 55602, this pair ranks #126,432 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fair vs faires

Shared letters: afir. Private to "fair": -. Private to "faires": es.

"fair" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "faires" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fairafir · fairr · fari · ffair · fiar
  • fairesafires · faiers · fairess · fairres · fairse · faries · ffaires · fiares

Frequency comparison

fair#8,853
faires#46,749

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fair" and "faires" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fɛːɐ̯\ versus \ˈfɛːʁəs\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fair" or "faires"?
"fair" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,853 in our French list, against #46,749 for "faires". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fair vs faires

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fair” 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