faitesvsfigésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#506
“faites” frequency rank
#42,338
“figés” frequency rank
42844
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature faites figés
Definition Féminin pluriel de fait. Masculin pluriel de figé.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
faites
5 ch
figés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. faites (\fɛt\) and figés (\fi.ʒe\) 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 42844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

faites is recorded at frequency rank #506, classified as anadj, pronounced \fɛt\. figés is at rank #42,338, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fi.ʒe\.

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 42844, this pair ranks #222,510 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of faites vs figés

Shared letters: fis. Private to "faites": aet. Private to "figés": .

"faites" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "figés" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequency comparison

faites#506
figés#42,338

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "faites" and "figés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fɛt\ versus \fi.ʒe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "faites" or "figés"?
"faites" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #506 in our French list, against #42,338 for "figés". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering faites vs figés

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 “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