faitesvsfêtentWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: faites is a adjective, fêtent is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“faites” is an adjective and “fêtent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#506
“faites” frequency rank
#31,045
“fêtent” frequency rank
31551
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature faites fêtent
Definition Féminin pluriel de fait. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de fêter.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set faites and fêtent apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
faites
6 ch
fêtent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: faites and fêtent carry the same recorded pronunciation, \fɛt\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31551, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

faites is recorded at frequency rank #506, classified as anadj, pronounced \fɛt\. fêtent is at rank #31,045, tagged as averb, pronounced \fɛt\.

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 31551, this pair ranks #303,084 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of faites vs fêtent

Shared letters: eft. Private to "faites": ais. Private to "fêtent": .

"faites" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "fêtent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • faitesafites · faiets · faitess · faitse · faittes · faties · ffaites · fiates

Frequency comparison

faites#506
fêtent#31,045

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "faites" and "fêtent" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "faites" is an adjective and "fêtent" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "faites" or "fêtent"?
"faites" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #506 in our French list, against #31,045 for "fêtent". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering faites vs fêtent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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