Which to use
“fare” and “fers” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,039
- “fare” frequency rank
- #19,837
- “fers” frequency rank
- 64876
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fare | fers |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pêche solennelle que les pêcheurs faisaient pour leur fête, vers le mois de mai, et qui fut interdite en 1670, parce qu’elle dépeuplait les rivières. | Pluriel de fer. |
Where the eye mixes fare and fers
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fare (CVCV) and fers (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses fare with fers
A purely visual mix-up. fare (\faʁ\) and fers (\fɛʁ\) 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 64876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fare is recorded at frequency rank #45,039, classified as anoun, pronounced \faʁ\. fers is at rank #19,837, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɛʁ\.
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 64876, this pair ranks #74,943 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fare vs fers
Shared letters: efr. Private to "fare": a. Private to "fers": s.
"fare" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fers" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fare" for "fers" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fare" vs "fers" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fare" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fers" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,943 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fare" and "fers" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fare 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 #74,943 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.