Which to use
“fast” is an adverb and “fastes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,544
- “fast” frequency rank
- #36,387
- “fastes” frequency rank
- 44931
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fast | fastes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Presque, quasiment. | Tables ou livres du calendrier où étaient indiqués les jours de fêtes, d’assemblées publiques, de jeux. |
Same sound, different letters: fast vs fastes
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters.
Same sound, different spelling - fast / fastes
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: fast and fastes carry the same recorded pronunciation, \fast\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadverb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fast” sits inside “fastes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44931, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fast is recorded at frequency rank #8,544, classified as anadv, pronounced \fast\. fastes is at rank #36,387, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fast\.
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 44931, this pair ranks #206,718 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fast vs fastes
Shared letters: afst. Private to "fast": -. Private to "fastes": e.
"fast" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "fastes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fast" for "fastes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fast" vs "fastes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "fast" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fastes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #206,718 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fast" and "fastes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fakes vs fastes". 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 #206,718 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.