Which to use
“fend” is a verb and “fer” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,951
- “fend” frequency rank
- #1,262
- “fer” frequency rank
- 30213
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fend | fer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de fendre. | Élément chimique de numéro atomique 26 et de symbole Fe qui fait partie des métaux de transition. |
Where the eye mixes fend and fer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fend with fer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fend is \fɑ̃\ while fer is \fɛʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30213, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fend is recorded at frequency rank #28,951, classified as averb, pronounced \fɑ̃\. fer is at rank #1,262, 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 30213, this pair ranks #311,821 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fend vs fer
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fend": dn. Private to "fer": r.
"fend" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "fer" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fend ← efnd · fedn · fendd · fennd · ffend · fned
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fend" for "fer" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "fend" or "fer" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "fend" and "fer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #311,821 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fend" and "fer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fend". 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 #311,821 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.