Which to use
“fermait” and “fêtait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,960
- “fermait” frequency rank
- #39,313
- “fêtait” frequency rank
- 71273
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fermait | fêtait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de fermer. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de fêter. |
Where the eye mixes fermait and fêtait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fermait runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against fêtait's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fermait vs fêtait
A purely visual mix-up. fermait (\fɛʁ.mɛ\) and fêtait (\fe.tɛ\) 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 71273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fermait is recorded at frequency rank #31,960, classified as averb, pronounced \fɛʁ.mɛ\. fêtait is at rank #39,313, tagged as averb, pronounced \fe.tɛ\.
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 71273, this pair ranks #48,168 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fermait vs fêtait
Shared letters: afit. Private to "fermait": emr. Private to "fêtait": ê.
"fermait" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "fêtait" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fermait ← efrmait · femrait · feramit · fermaitt · fermati · fermiat · fermmait · ferrmait
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fermait" for "fêtait" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fermait" vs "fêtait" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fermait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fêtait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #48,168 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fermait" and "fêtait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fêtait vs fuyait". 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 #48,168 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.