fatiguevsfigueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,332
“fatigue” frequency rank
#36,844
“figue” frequency rank
41176
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fatigue figue
Definition Sensation de faiblesse physique. Faux-fruit comestible du figuier, issu de l’inflorescence contenant des akènes qui sont les fruits proprement dits, contenus dans une pulpe molle et sucrée.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fatigue and figue apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
fatigue
5 ch
figue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fatigue (\fa.tiɡ\) and figue (\fiɡ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41176, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fatigue is recorded at frequency rank #4,332, classified as anoun, pronounced \fa.tiɡ\. figue is at rank #36,844, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fiɡ\.

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 41176, this pair ranks #235,056 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fatigue vs figue

Shared letters: efgiu. Private to "fatigue": at. Private to "figue": -.

"fatigue" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "figue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fatigueaftigue · faitgue · fatgiue · fatigeu · fatiggue · fatiuge · fattigue · ffatigue
  • figueffigue · fgiue · figeu · figgue · fiuge · ifgue

Frequency comparison

fatigue#4,332
figue#36,844

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fatigue" and "figue" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fa.tiɡ\ versus \fiɡ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fatigue" or "figue"?
"fatigue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,332 in our French list, against #36,844 for "figue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fatigue vs figue

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 “fatigue” 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