Which to use
“fei” and “fic” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,027
- “fei” frequency rank
- #46,762
- “fic” frequency rank
- 77789
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fei | fic |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante de foi | Verrue à pédoncule étroit ressemblant à une figue. |
Where the eye mixes fei and fic
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fei (CVV) and fic (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between fei and fic
A purely visual mix-up. fei (\fei̯\) and fic (\fik\) 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 77789, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fei is recorded at frequency rank #31,027, classified as anoun, pronounced \fei̯\. fic is at rank #46,762, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fik\.
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 77789, this pair ranks #27,459 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fei vs fic
Shared letters: fi. Private to "fei": e. Private to "fic": c.
"fei" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "fic" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fei" and "fic" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fei" or "fic"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fei" and "fic" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fic" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,459 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fei" and "fic" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fic". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #27,459 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.