Which to use
“fake” and “fixe” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,854
- “fake” frequency rank
- #2,615
- “fixe” frequency rank
- 11469
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fake | fixe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Faux. | Immobile. |
Where the eye mixes fake and fixe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fake with fixe
A purely visual mix-up. fake (\fɛk\) and fixe (\fiks\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11469, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fake is recorded at frequency rank #8,854, classified as anadj, pronounced \fɛk\. fixe is at rank #2,615, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fiks\.
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 11469, this pair ranks #409,035 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fake vs fixe
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fake": ak. Private to "fixe": ix.
"fake" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fixe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fake" for "fixe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fake" vs "fixe" - 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 "fake" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fixe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #409,035 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fake" and "fixe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fake vs Fee". 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 #409,035 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.