Which to use
“fer” and “fork” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,262
- “fer” frequency rank
- #46,769
- “fork” frequency rank
- 48031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fer | fork |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Élément chimique de numéro atomique 26 et de symbole Fe qui fait partie des métaux de transition. | Appel système du système UNIX qui duplique un processus existant. |
Where the eye mixes fer and fork
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fer and fork
A purely visual mix-up. fer (\fɛʁ\) and fork (\fɔʁk\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fer is recorded at frequency rank #1,262, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɛʁ\. fork is at rank #46,769, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɔʁk\.
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 48031, this pair ranks #182,182 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fer vs fork
Shared letters: fr. Private to "fer": e. Private to "fork": ko.
"fer" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fork" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fork ← ffork · fokr · forkk · forrk · frok · ofrk
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fer" and "fork" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "fer" or "fork" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fork" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #182,182 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fer" and "fork" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fork vs FPR". 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 #182,182 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.