fairesvsfoireWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: faires is a adjective, foire is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“faires” is an adjective and “foire” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#46,749
“faires” frequency rank
#5,869
“foire” frequency rank
52618
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature faires foire
Definition Accusatif neutre singulier de la déclinaison forte de fair. Fête populaire qui a lieu à certaines dates de l’année.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
faires
5 ch
foire

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

faires and foire form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52618, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

faires is recorded at frequency rank #46,749, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈfɛːʁəs\. foire is at rank #5,869, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fwaʁ\.

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 52618, this pair ranks #146,444 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

faires#46,749
foire#5,869

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "faires" and "foire" be used interchangeably?
No, "faires" and "foire" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering faires vs foire

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “faires”; for a noun, it's “foire”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “faires” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list