Which to use
“fenêtre” and “fente” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,475
- “fenêtre” frequency rank
- #21,624
- “fente” frequency rank
- 24099
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fenêtre | fente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ouverture faite dans certaines parties d’un bâtiment, pour donner du jour et de l’air à l’intérieur. | Division en long pratiquée à un corps, à une masse quelconque. |
Where the eye mixes fenêtre and fente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fenêtre runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against fente's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fenêtre with fente
A purely visual mix-up. fenêtre (\fə.nɛtʁ\) and fente (\fɑ̃t\) 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 24099, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fenêtre is recorded at frequency rank #2,475, classified as anoun, pronounced \fə.nɛtʁ\. fente is at rank #21,624, 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 24099, this pair ranks #348,624 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fenêtre vs fente
Shared letters: efnt. Private to "fenêtre": rê. Private to "fente": -.
"fenêtre" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "fente" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fente ← efnte · fenet · fennte · fentte · fetne · ffente · fnete
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fenêtre" for "fente" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fenêtre" vs "fente" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fenêtre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #348,624 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fenêtre" and "fente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fente". 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 #348,624 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.