fautesvsfentesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,233
“fautes” frequency rank
#33,261
“fentes” frequency rank
37494
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fautes fentes
Definition Pluriel de faute. Pluriel de fente.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fautes and fentes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
fautes
6 ch
fentes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fautes (\fot\) and fentes (\fɑ̃t\) 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 37494, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fautes is recorded at frequency rank #4,233, classified as anoun, pronounced \fot\. fentes is at rank #33,261, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɑ̃t\.

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 37494, this pair ranks #262,127 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fautes vs fentes

Shared letters: efst. Private to "fautes": au. Private to "fentes": n.

"fautes" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "fentes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fautesafutes · fatues · fauets · fautess · fautse · fauttes · ffautes · fuates
  • fentesefntes · fenets · fenntes · fentess · fentse · fenttes · fetnes · ffentes

Frequency comparison

fautes#4,233
fentes#33,261

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fautes" and "fentes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fot\ versus \fɑ̃t\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fautes" or "fentes"?
"fautes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,233 in our French list, against #33,261 for "fentes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fautes vs fentes

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 “fautes” 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