Which to use
“fair” and “faits” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,853
- “fair” frequency rank
- #873
- “faits” frequency rank
- 9726
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fair | faits |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Correct | Masculin pluriel de fait. |
Where the eye mixes fair and faits
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fair runs 4 letters (CVVC) against faits's 5 (CVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fair and faits
A purely visual mix-up. fair (\fɛːɐ̯\) and faits (\fɛ\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9726, 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\. faits is at rank #873, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fɛ\.
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 9726, this pair ranks #415,636 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fair vs faits
Shared letters: afi. Private to "fair": r. Private to "faits": st.
"fair" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "faits" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fair" and "faits" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "fair" vs "faits" - 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 "fair" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "faits" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #415,636 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fair" and "faits" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fair vs FPR". 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 #415,636 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.